Business

JUST IN: CBN Raises Interest Rate to 26.75% Amid Surging Inflation

Published

1 year ago

July 23, 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, on Tuesday raised the interest by 50 basis points to 26.75 per cent from 26.25 per cent in May 2024.

CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced this at a press briefing on Tuesday at the end of the two-day 296th MPC in Abuja.

According to him, the decision to further increase the interest rate is to tackle the country’s rising core inflation and food inflation which stood at 34.19 per cent and 40.87 per cent, respectively in June.

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He said members of the MPC are not oblivious of the need to address the rising prices of food in Nigeria, necessitating the interest rate hike.

DAILY POST reports that the implication of the interest rate hike is that businesses, farmers, manufacturers and investors will have to pay more to get loans from banks.

The 296th MPC meeting is the fourth time the interest rate has been increased since the appointment of Cardoso in September last year.

Recall that in May 2023, when President Bola Tinubu was inaugurated, Nigeria’s interest rate stood at 18.75 per cent while inflation rate stood at 22.41 per cent.

Meanwhile, despite CBN’s continued interest rate hikes, the country’s inflation has not cooled off.

Earlier analysts had called for a pause in the hike of the interest rate.

The Director of the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, backed call for a pause in the hike of the interest rate.

According to him, the monetary instruments have been overstretched, hence not productive.

“I think we have overstretched monetary instruments because of inflation. They should put a pause on interest rate hikes,” he said.

Business

CBN Sets POS Maximum Transactions In Fresh Guidelines

Published

14 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has rolled out fresh guidelines for agent banking, known as Point of Sales, across the country.

The apex also in the guidelines pegged daily POS transactions at N1.2 million per agent and N100,000 per individual.

CBN disclosed this in a circular signed by its Director of the Payments System Management Department, Musa Jimoh.

The guidelines further mandate all financial institutions to publish the list of all their POS agents on their website and to display it in their branches.

CBN noted that the guidelines would take effect from April 1, 2026.

“The Guidelines aim to establish minimum standards for operating agent banking in Nigeria, enhancing agent banking to provide financial services and promoting financial inclusion, encouraging responsible market conduct and improving service quality in agent banking operations.

“This circular takes effect from the date of release, while the implementation of agent location and agent exclusivity shall be in effect from April 1, 2026.

“POS agents are restricted to a maximum of N1.2 million per day. Individual customers are limited to N100,000 in daily transactions.

“These limits are intended to curb misuse, enhance financial integrity, and protect consumers within the agent banking framework,” it stated.

Business

Naira Records First Appreciation Against US Dollar At Official Market

Published

14 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded appreciation on Wednesday against the United States dollar at the official market, the first time in three days this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rate data showed that the Naira strengthened to N 1,470.62 per dollar on Wednesday, up from N1,471.09 traded on Tuesday.

This means that the country’s currency firmed up slightly by N0.47 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

Monday and Tuesday, the Naira recorded negative sentiment at the official foreign exchange market.

However, at the black market, the Naira remained unchanged at N1,500 per dollar on Wednesday, the same rate exchanged on Tuesday.

The apex bank data indicated that the country’s external reserves, a determinant of the exchange rates, stood at $42.57 billion as of October 7, 2025.

Business

SEC Warns Nigerians Of AfriQuantumX Ponzi scheme

Published

14 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has named AfriQuatum, with a claimed worth of N76 billion, as a Ponzi scheme.

The regulator also urged the public to be cautious about investing with the firm.

SEC disclosed this in a recent statement.

According to the SEC, any person who places an investment or engages with the entity does so at his or her own risk, adding that its operations exhibit characteristics commonly associated with fraudulent Ponzi schemes.

“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the activities of AfriQuantumX, which holds itself out as an investment platform trading on and selling cryptocurrency and stocks to investors in Nigeria.

“The Commission hereby informs the public that AfriQuantumX is not registered by the Commission either to solicit investments from the public or operate in any capacity within the Nigerian capital market,” SEC stated.