The World Bank does not leave a stone unturned when it comes to examining Nigeria. Many of its recommendations come as no surprise: full harmonisation of foreign exchange markets; removal of all tariffs; and trade liberalisation, for example. But who would read the entirety of this authoritative report and summarise it?  We would.  See details …

Bitcoin has taken the world by storm over the past year, but Nigerians were alert to the opportunities early on, and data suggests that they are among the most active Bitcoin traders in the world. At the same time, numerous central banks take a dim view of cryptocurrencies and would like to control them. What …

One can almost hear the sigh of relief coming from Abuja.  Oil prices are up and the immediate threat to the nation’s foreign exchange reserves has receded. Markets (long-dated bonds and equities) have responded positively. However, inflation is still far above risk-free rates and the unofficial exchange rate is slipping. The game is not yet …

Economic growth; inflation; foreign exchange.  These are three of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s key responsibilities, yet prioritising one at the expense of the others can prove costly.  Yet how – with what tools – does the CBN manage them? We provide answers below. FX Last week, the exchange rate in the Investors and Exporters …

Q1 2021 GDP was reported on Sunday evening and showed the growth rate at 0.51% year-on-year (y/y). This was better than the 0.11% y/y growth of Q4 but Q1 2021’s non-oil growth was actually slower than Q4 (+0.79% y/y against +1.69% y/y).  Although the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) …

For the past 18 months investors in 1-year risk-free Nigerian Treasury Bills (T-bills) have been denied a return anywhere near the rate of inflation. Yet this has begun to change and, we believe, conditions are set to improve still further. After the radical interest rate policies of 2020, we see a return to something close …