Money market
Naira crashes further, trades as low as N910/$
By Sodiq Adelakun
The Naira fell as low as N910 against the dollar on Wednesday morning before moderating to the N902/$ levels.
Nigerians access this dollar-backed on the P2P market primarily for hedging and transactions.
The platform enables many young and tech-savvy people to convert their naira into these stablecoins denominated in dollars, making it simpler for them to send and receive money from abroad, buy goods and services, and process transactions more efficiently than Nigerian banks.
However, the market is largely unregulated and poses significant risks.
“Nigeria’s FX market will continue to be in focus given the true value of its net FX reserves, with an overall balance of payments deficit pointing towards continued FX pressure, which also noted that Nigeria’s FX reserves are” significantly lower than prior estimates, owing to larger-than-expected currency swaps and borrowing against existing reserves.
Short sellers are holding their ground against the naira even as the number of cash held outside banks dropped significantly from N2.26 trillion in June to N2.20 trillion in July.
…FX Pressure and Regulatory Efforts
To stabilise the naira and curb inflation, the CBN has introduced several measures, including raising the banks’ cash reserve ratio (CRR), opening market operations (OMO), and changing the exchange rate regime.
While the market rallied on the news, it appeared to be short-lived support as the local currency subsequently fell against the dollar in the following segments.
The Naira has been falling steadily since FG/CBN announced the Naira float. It lost nearly half its value against the US dollar within 10 weeks of its introduction.
The country’s apex bank reaffirmed its commitment to achieving price stability and exchange rate stability, but given the structural and budgetary difficulties the economy is experiencing, economists have expressed scepticism about the CBN’s capacity on its limited FX ammunition.
Nigeria’s leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB) will be at this year’s Ojude Oba Festival to be held in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
The Ojude Oba festival is an annual event that typically holds on the third day of the Eid-al-Kabir whereby different cultural age groups put up a spectacular parade to pay homage to the Royal Majesty, the Awujale of Ijebualand.
As a precursor to the Ojude Oba festival, Moneymaster, has embarked on a month-long market activation, engaging indigenes of Ijebuland to onboard them on to one of its digital banking platforms – mobile wallet. With the Moneymaster mobile wallet, customers can transfer, withdraw from an agent, buy airtime and pay utility bills.
During this month-long activation, customers in Ijebuland who open an account stand a chance of winning free airtime amongst other gift items.
According to a statement by the company, the move towards a cashless economy can become a reality when the bulk of Nigerians embrace mobile wallets so as to help them cultivate a more convenient savings habit and also enable them make payment with ease.
“While we rejoice with the people of Ijebuland at this time, we also want to showcase what we have in Moneymaster’s mobile wallet that can help various people to enjoy seamless banking from their phones,” the statement noted.
Moneymaster Payment Service bank is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria and insured by NDIC to promote financial inclusion in furtherance of the Nigerian financial literacy initiative driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
With Moneymaster, Nigerians can open mobile wallets, savings account, individual and business accounts to make payments, buy airtime, and pay utility bills to over 4,000 companies.
MoneyMaster was recently appointed a payment partner to the Ounje Eko initiative by the Lagos State government in its bid to provide discounted food items to residents of the state amidst rising cost of food items. Moneymaster is positioned to support individuals and businesses in their journeys towards financial prosperity by offering bespoke financial services that meet their aspirations.
Union Bank Nigeria Limited has stressed the importance of preserving and restoring the global environment through sustainable practices.
This message was conveyed during an event co-hosted with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation in observance of World Environment Day.
A key highlight of the event was a tree-planting exercise involving participants and stakeholders representatives. This activity aligned with this year’s theme, “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience,” emphasising the need to rejuvenate and restore areas affected by deforestation, erosion, and desertification, both globally and in Nigeria.
During the program, the Head of Citizenship and Sustainability at Union Bank, Patricia Iwhewhe, highlighted the need to protect our environment.
In her words: “Land degradation and erosion are not things stakeholders and policymakers can afford to ignore or gloss over. We all must get involved in helping restore and reclaim parts of our environment badly impacted by deforestation and desertification. Union Bank, as a sustainability champion committed to the preservation of our dear planet, appreciates and recognises the responsibility we have as humanity to look after our environment. We will continue to support and participate in programs dedicated to protecting and enriching our precious habitat.”
The event gathered diverse stakeholders, including environmental rights activists, international partners agencies, corporate bodies, government agencies, and students from selected secondary schools, to discuss and engage in World Environment Day activities.
The Naira on Thursday slightly depreciated at the official market trading at N1,476.24 to the dollar.
Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, revealed that the Naira lost N2.58.
This represents a 0.17 percent loss when compared to the previous trading date on Tuesday when it traded at N1,473.66 to the dollar.
Also, the volume of currency traded reduced to $92.68 million on Thursday down from $385.91 million recorded on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporter’s (I&E) window, the Naira traded between 1,500 and N1,400 against the dollar.
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