The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that all valid foreign exchange backlogs have now been settled, thereby fulfilling a key pledge of the CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, to process an inherited backlog of US$7 billion in claims.
This was disclosed in a statement made public on Wednesday by Mrs. Sidi Ali, the bank’s acting director of corporate communications.
The remaining portion of the FX backlog was essentially settled, as Mrs. Ali pointed out, when the CBN recently completed paying $1.5 billion to satisfy debts to bank clients. She also mentioned Deloitte Consulting’s independent auditors.
The CBN then revealed last month that as of March 7, 2024, its external reserves had increased by $993 million to $34.11 billion, the greatest level in eight months.
The month-on-month increase was driven by a marked advance in remittance payments by Nigerians overseas, as well as higher purchases of local assets, including government debt securities, by foreign investors.
Ali emphasized that meticulous efforts were undertaken to settle these outstanding transactions.
According to the statement, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced that all valid foreign exchange backlogs have now been settled, fulfilling a key pledge of the CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, to process an inherited backlog of $7bn in claims.
“Clearance of the foreign exchange transactions backlog is part of the overall strategy detailed in last month’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting to stabilise the exchange rate and thereby curb imported inflation, spurring confidence in the banking system and the economy.
“Cardoso used the MPC meeting and a subsequent conference call with foreign portfolio investors to set expectations for sustained increases in Nigeria’s foreign currency reserves and improved liquidity in the foreign exchange market.”
