The dialogue reaffirmed the CBN’s dedication to rectifying distortions within the foreign exchange market. We understand that a payment of USD400m has recently been made towards the outstanding FX backlog of USD2.2bn, resulting in a remaining balance of USD1.8bn. Cardoso revealed that the remaining backlog, associated with five banks, would be swiftly cleared in the near future.
The discussion underscored the CBN’s commitment to rebuilding trust within the financial ecosystem. It was disclosed that the apex bank is already attracting foreign capital (i.e., billion-dollar volumes). Regarding the recently concluded MPC, options available to the committee were largely to tighten.