The nation’s currency maintained stability week on week against the Dollar in most segment of foreign exchange market following the injection of $210 million by the Central Bank of Nigeria into the market. The CBN allocated $ 100 million to wholesale (SMIS) while $55 million each sold to Small and Medium scale Enterprises and Invisible.
The naira close flat against the dollar at the parallel (black) market and the inter bank forex market, trading at N363.00 to a dollar and N330.00 to a dollar respectively. At the Bureaux De Change segment of forex market the naira appreciated by 0 02 per cent to close at N360.00 amid increase in foreign exchange reserves by 0 9 per cent to $41.5 billion.
However, at the segment of investors and exporters forex window ( I&E FXW) , the Maura depreciated by 0.28 per cent to close at N360.36 kobo.
Total assets/liabilities of banks put at N34.593trn in Q4
The total assets and liabilities of the commercial banks stood at N34.593 trillion at end-December 2017.
This represents 3.9 per cent increase over the level at end-September 2017.
The Central Bank of Nigeria quarterly report said that the funds were sourced, mainly, from reduction of claims on the Federal Government and mobilisation of demand, time, savings and foreign currency deposits. The funds according to the CBN were used to increase claims on the central bank and the private sector, acquire foreign assets, increase accretion to reserves and reduce unclassified liabilities.
The report said that at N20.414 trillion, banks credit to the domestic economy, fell by 5.5 per cent, below the level at end-September 2017.
The development reflected, the decline in claims on the Federal Government and the private sector in the review quarter.
However, total specified liquid assets of the banks stood at N10.093 trillion, representing 54.8 per cent of the total current liabilities.
It explained that at that level, the liquidity ratio rose by 4.9 percentage points above the level at the end of the preceding quarter and was 24.8 percentage points above the stipulated minimum ratio of 30.0 per cent. It said that the loans-to-deposit ratio which stood at 72.84 per cent, was 6.77 percentage points and 7.16 percentage points below the level at the end of the preceding quarter and the prescribed maximum of 80.0 per cent.
On the monetary and credit development, the CBN said that despite the it’s non-expansionary monetary policy stance in the fourth quarter of 2017, growth in the major monetary aggregates trended upward. The Net foreign assets and other asset (net) of the banking system rose by 47.4 per cent and 10.6 per cent above the levels in the preceding quarter, respectively, while aggregate credit to the domestic economy fell by 4.2 per cent, relative to the levels in the preceding quarter.
