Economy

FX platform: CBN sets $100,000 minimum trade for banks

Published

1 month ago

November 27, 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued fresh guidelines for interbank foreign exchange trading via the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System, mandating a minimum trade value of $100,000.

The directive, dated 25 November 2024 and signed by Dr Omolara Duke, CBN’s Director of the Financial Markets Department, is part of efforts to ensure transparency, efficiency, and compliance within Nigeria’s FX market.

According to a new set of guidelines released by the CBN on Tuesday, the EFEMS is designed to streamline interbank FX trading, reduce counterparty risks, and ensure adherence to CBN regulations.

The apex bank has designated Bloomberg’s BMatch as the official order-matching platform for interbank transactions, with trading hours set between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm West Africa Time on business days.

One notable provision in the guidelines is the enforcement of a $100,000 minimum tradable amount, with incremental clip sizes of $50,000.

The EFEMS is also limited to spot FX transactions involving the Nigerian naira and the United States dollar.

The CBN, however, retains the discretion to introduce other currency pairs when deemed necessary.

The guidelines document read, “All trades consummated on EFEMS are binding unless canceled by mutual agreement of both parties with written approval from the CBN.

“The minimum tradable amount is US$100,000.00, with incremental clip sizes of US$50,000.00.

“Participants must set credit and settlement limits for other counterparties in the system. Transactions exceeding these limits will not be executed.

“Participants must have adequate credit and settlement limits set for the CBN as its counterparty bank.

“Participants are required to comply with the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Code and other CBN regulations.”

Participation in the EFEMS is limited to authorised dealer banks licensed by the CBN, while other institutions wishing to join the platform must first obtain prior approval.

Participants are also required to execute agreements with the CBN-approved platform provider, maintain accurate profiles, and operate within prescribed credit and settlement limits.

Withdrawal from the platform must be preceded by a 30-day notice, along with the resolution of any outstanding obligations.

Also, trades conducted via the platform will remain anonymous until matched. Counterparty details will only be revealed once transactions are concluded, in line with settlement protocols.

Transactions exceeding set limits or conducted outside EFEMS parameters must be reported promptly and logged onto the FX blotter within 10 minutes.

The CBN emphasised that it will closely monitor all transactions on EFEMS to ensure market integrity and transparency.

Participants are required to submit daily reports detailing trade volumes, settlement statuses, and counterparties.

The central bank also reserves the right to publish aggregated or disaggregated trade data for market analysis, subject to confidentiality agreements.

Any violations of the EFEMS guidelines or related regulations will attract strict penalties, including the suspension or revocation of access rights.

The CBN further stated that it will periodically review the platform’s operations to ensure efficiency and compliance with its directives.

In a separate document on Tuesday, the CBN announced that the Bloomberg BMatch system will officially go live as the EFEMS for foreign exchange trading on December 2, 2024.

The CBN outlined that all authorised dealers and banks in the interbank FX market are required to deploy the Bloomberg BMatch system for their trading activities.

The system aims to ensure uniformity and seamless trading among market participants while enabling the CBN to effectively monitor market performance and data management.

The central bank urged banks to liaise with Bloomberg representatives to expedite the onboarding process and address any technical or operational issues promptly.

Related Topics:CBN Dollar Naira Nigeria Nigerian

Up Next

SEE Black Market Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate Today 27th November 2024

Don't Miss

Stop Interest Hiking, Experts Tell CBN As Apex Bank Raises Rate Again

Click to comment

Economy

SEE Black Market Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate in Lagos and FCT today, 9th January 2025

Published

20 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Naijablitznews

The official naira black market exchange rate in Lagos and FCT, Abuja today including the Black Market rates, Bureau De Change (BDC), and CBN rates.

According to Bureau De Change (BDC) sources in the Ogba and Ikeja axis of Lagos state, the exchange rate for a dollar to naira at the Parallel Market (Black Market) was N1750 on Thursday, January 9th, 2024, players bought a dollar for N1750 and sold it for N1760.

Bureau De Change (BDC) sources in Gwarimpa and Gwagwalada in FCT buy a dollar for N1760 and sell it for N1770 on Thursday, January 9th, 2024.

Please note that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) does not recognize the parallel market (black market), as it has directed individuals who want to engage in Forex to approach their respective banks.

Dollar to Naira Black Market Rate Lagos
Dollar to Naira (USD to NGN) Black Market Exchange Rate Today
Buying Rate N1750
Selling Rate N1760
Dollar to Naira Black Market Rate FCT, Abuja
Dollar to Naira (USD to NGN) CBN Rate Today
Buying Rate N1760
Selling Rate N1770
Please note that the rates you buy or sell forex may differ from what is captured in this article because prices vary from state to state across Nigeria.

Economy

SEE Black Market Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate In Lagos, FCT, 4th January 2025

Published

6 days ago

January 4, 2025

Naijablitznews

Bureau De Change (BDC) sources in Gwarimpa and Gwagwalada in FCT buy a dollar for N1760 and sell it for N1770 on Saturday, January 4th, 2024.

Black Market Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate in Lagos and FCT today, 4th January 2025.

The official naira black market exchange rate in Lagos and FCT, Abuja today including the Black Market rates, Bureau De Change (BDC), and CBN rates.

According to Bureau De Change (BDC) sources in the Ogba and Ikeja axis of Lagos state, the exchange rate for a dollar to naira at the Parallel Market (Black Market) was N1750 on Saturday, January 4th, 2024, players bought a dollar for N1750 and sold it for N1760.

Bureau De Change (BDC) sources in Gwarimpa and Gwagwalada in FCT buy a dollar for N1760 and sell it for N1770 on Saturday, January 4th, 2024.

Economy

Why 1,000 workers left CBN – Cardoso

Published

6 days ago

January 4, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Central Bank of Nigeria has again clarified that the 1,000 staff members who opted out of service in December 2024 were not forced to quit their jobs.

The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, stated this on Friday in Abuja at an investigative hearing of the House of Representatives’ ad-hoc committee probing the circumstances leading to the exit of the staff members and how the sum of N50bn severance package for the affected persons was arrived at.

Cardoso added that the affected persons opted to disengage through the voluntary Early Exit Program with payment of full benefits.

Represented by Deputy Director, Corporate Service of the CBN, Bala Bello, Cardoso explained. “The Early Exit Program, Restructuring and Re-organization “are basically ways and means through which the performance of an organization is optimized by ensuring that round pegs are put in right holes. The manpower requirement of the bank is actually met.

“I’m very happy to mention that the early exit program of the CBN is 100 per cent voluntary. It’s not mandatory. Nobody has been asked to leave, and nobody has been forced to leave. It’s a completely voluntary programme that has been put in place.”

He also noted that the exercise was not restricted to government agencies alone, saying, “I believe several organisations across the world, and even within this country, both in terms of the private sector and the public sector, are undertaking similar exercises.”

Continuing, Cardoso said, “In the past, we had instances in which cases of stagnation and lack of career progression appear. In an organisation, you’ve got a pyramid where from each level to the next level, the gap keeps narrowing. If not, you are going to have a quasi-organisation, an inverted pyramid.

“It gets to the level where you have, for example, 30 departments in the Central Bank. You cannot have 60 directors manning 30 departments. It’s not going to work.

“Once those vacancies are filled, it gets to a level where some people, even though they are very qualified, able, and willing, but the vacancies are not there. And then they got to a level where they are stagnated for a period of time.”

Speaking earlier, the chairman of the committee, Bello Kumo, noted that the committee’s responsibility was to submit the report to the House.