CBN's Headquarters, Abuja
By Akinola Ajibade
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shut the door against some dealers, who want to access discount window for business.
The dealers, CBN said, are authorised ones, which are officially licensed to do so.
The apex bank, in a circular to all dealers on the access to the discount window, which was dated October 7, 2022, and signed by the its Director, Financial Markets Department, Dr. Angela Sere-Ejembi.
The circular reminded participants with successful bids at the Open Market Operations (OMO) auctions to refrain from accessing the discount window on the auction date.
The bank warned that henceforth, failure for non-compliance to the directive shall result in the reversal of the allotment. The bank emphasized that successful bids at the government securities auctions, including the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) FGN Bonds, and Sukuk, are not permitted to access the CBN discounted window on the settlement date.
It explained that the move was necessitated by the non-adherence to the provisions guiding access to the discount window in spite of two previous circulars on the subject in 2012 and 2016.
The CBN emphasized that requests on Standing Lending Facility (SLF), Funding for Liquidity Facility (FfLF) and Tenored Repurchase Transactions (REPO) would not be permitted.It added that the Automated Repo Conversion (AREPO), and conversion of Intraday Liquidity Facility (IDF) to FfLF on the settlement date, as well as running REPO shall attract a penal charge of five per cent flat on the allotment value.
According to the central bank, the circular, which takes immediate effect, also stated that participants with successful foreign exchange bids and transactions are not to not to access the discount window on both auction and transaction settlement dates, warning that any contravention to the directive shall result in cancellation of the bids or transactions.
The bank further maintained that authorized dealers who come to any CBN’s windows are prohibited from the interbank foreign exchange market on the same day.
The bank added: “In view of the observed abuse of access to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Standing Lending Facility by authorized dealers, it has become imperative that some measures be taken to redress the trend and re-define the mode of operation by authorized dealers at the
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