The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Friday that it would soon unveil a revised foreign exchange manual aimed at deepening market participation and further strengthening the naira.
The announcement was made by Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN, at the Bankers’ Dinner organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos, where he explained that the new manual is part of ongoing efforts to reinforce transparency and efficiency in the foreign exchange market.
Cardoso explained that the revised manual is designed to enhance documentation standards, expand participation in the FX market, improve surveillance within the electronic FX management system, and ensure consistency across the board.
According to him, “To strengthen this framework further, we will shortly be unveiling the revised foreign exchange manual to expand market participation, tighten documentation standards, enhance EFMs surveillance and ensure consistency.”
He noted that the introduction of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Code has already provided clear rules that guide transparency, ethics, governance and fair dealing among authorised dealers. He added that the deployment of the electronic Foreign Exchange Management System, powered by Bloomberg BMAT, has significantly transformed FX trading by enabling mandatory order submission, real-time regulatory visibility and improved price discovery, which together have enhanced the credibility and efficiency of the FX market.
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In his welcome address, Pius Deji Olanrewaju, president and chairman of council at CIBN, said the institute continues to deliver on its mandate of promoting professionalism, ethics, capacity building and youth empowerment. He emphasised that these priorities form the central pillars of his six-point legacy agenda unveiled on May 17, 2024.
Olanrewaju explained that the Institute remains strongly committed to advancing human-capital development within the Nigerian banking industry, working closely with the Body of Bank CEOs to address staffing gaps, particularly those linked to the ‘japa’ syndrome.
He said the Human Capital Retention Fund, recently established by the Institute, is targeted at supporting the training of young entrants into the industry as well as upskilling existing bank staff. According to him, this initiative will ultimately lead to the establishment of a Banking School of international standard, designed to serve as a sustainable talent pipeline for the financial services sector. He added that the Board of Trustees of the Banking School is working diligently to build a cadre of highly skilled professionals capable of driving innovation, resilience and excellence across the industry.