THE Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bankers’ Committee have unanimously agreed to extend special facilities to Nigerian-registered airlines and the media industry.
The move will enable them adequately address the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said these on Tuesday, during the Bi-monthly Virtual Meeting of the Bankers’ Committee.
He urged the banks to do all within their powers to support airlines in the country, noting that such support was critical to helping the industry recover from the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Similarly, he urged the banks to support the efforts of the media industry in Nigeria, to cope with the lingering pandemic, in order to avoid massive job losses in the industry.
Recall that the CBN, at the onset of the pandemic in Nigeria, announced a N1.2trn intervention fund to support critical sectors of the economy.
Out of this amount, N1trn was to support the local manufacturing sector and to boost import substitution.
The remaining N100bn of the intervention fund was to support the health sector in equipping laboratories and enhancing research to produce vaccines and test kits in Nigeria.
The Bank, also in March 2020, unveiled guidelines for the implementation of a N100bn Targeted Credit Facility as a stimulus package to support households and micro, small and medium enterprises affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s move by the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee might just be an answer to the optimism expressed by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who said the ministry was hopeful that businesses in Nigeria’s aviation sector would be given the opportunity to access palliatives from the CBN.
With support expected for the media in Nigeria, many media houses will be able to weather the storm generated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, as part of its effort to increase foreign exchange liquidity in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria has directed all banks in the country to submit the names, addresses and Bank Verification Numbers of exporters that have defaulted in repatriating their exports proceeds, for further action.
The directive issued by the CBN Governor comes barely 24 hours after the Bank announced the abolition of third-party “Form M” payment.
The move by the CBN followed the adoption of the strategy to discourage over-invoicing, which some businesses have allegedly used to divert foreign exchange from the country, through the opening of “Forms M” for which payment are routed through a buying company, agent, or other third parties.
The statement, signed by the Bank’s Director of Trade and Exchange, Ozoemena Nnaji, had also explained that the directive was aimed at ensuring prudent use of Nigeria’s foreign exchange resources and the elimination of incidences of over-invoicing, transfer pricing, double handling charges and avoidable costs that are ultimately passed to the average Nigerian consumer.
Recall that the CBN, in the past, had also warned exporters conducting export activity against diverting foreign exchange from the export proceeds, instead of repatriating same home.
The Bank, in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, had threatened heavy sanctions against exporters who failed to repatriate foreign exchange proceeds from their international business.
The CBN stressed that its Foreign Exchange Manual provided that all exporters should repatriate export proceeds back to the country to support the local currency and boost the economy.
