CBN Disburses $61.64m To Foreign Airlines

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disbursed about $61.64 million to foreign airlines operating in the country as part of efforts to decrease its outstanding liability to the airlines.

The CBN acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Hakama Sidi, who made this known in a statement yesterday, disclosed that the disbursement was done through various Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country.

She added that the apex bank has also redeemed outstanding forward liabilities amounting to about $2 billion in the past three months, taking the total to about $2.062 billion.

Sidi explained that the move is further confirmation of the CBN’s resolve to eliminate the backlog of pending matured foreign exchange in banks as well as dousing pressure on the exchange rate.

She said, “This underscores the CBN’s commitment to the resolution of pending obligations and a functional foreign exchange market.”

By the latest intervention, the central bank hopes to provide a considerable boost to the naira against other major world currencies as well as increase investors’ confidence in the economy.

CBN Releases Fresh Guidelines For Cryptocurrency Transactions

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released fresh regulatory guidelines for the operation of cryptocurrency transactions by Deposit Money Banks (DMB) and other financial institutions.

Recall that the CBN had in February 2021 issued a circular restricting banks and other financial institutions from operating accounts for cryptocurrency service providers due to the money laundering and terrorism financing risks and the absence of regulations and consumer protection measures.

However, the CBN had recently removed the ban on cryptocurrency transactions in the Nigerian banking system by former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele.

In a new guideline titled, ‘Guideline On Operation of Bank Account For Virtual Assets Service Providers(VASPs),’ the CBN said banks and other financial institutions are still prohibited from holding, trading, and/or transacting in virtual currencies on
their own account.

The CBN warned that any contravention of the rule would attract a penalty of not less than N2 million.