Banks to deposit excess dollars at CBN Lagos, Abuja office

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday issued revised guidelines for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) regarding the deposit of excess foreign currency notes at its Lagos and Abuja branches.

This initiative aims to align exchange rates between the parallel and official markets. The official Foreign exchange (FX) closed at N1,505.30 on Friday while the black market rate printed at N1,520.

Réa also: Naira stability linked to low dollar demand, rising inflows
According to a circular issued on June 27, 2024, the CBN has approved DMBs to deposit their excess foreign currency notes with the Central Bank.

The approval is a response to the increasing demand by DMBs to deposit their forex cash with CBN for onward credit to their off-shore accounts with the correspondent banks

The guidelines outline specific procedures and limitations for these deposits. DMBs must provide at least three working days’ notice of their intent to deposit foreign currency, addressed in writing to the Branch Controller of CBN Lagos or Abuja. The notification must include a list of the owners of the foreign currency to be deposited.

CBN pegs maximum deposit for $100, $50 at $10m

There are also specified deposit thresholds. Higher denomination USD notes (USD100 and USD50) have a maximum daily deposit limit of USD10 million, while lower denomination USD notes (USD20 and below) have a maximum daily deposit limit of USD1 million. GBP notes have a maximum daily deposit limit of GBP1 million, and Euro notes have a maximum daily deposit limit of EUR1 million.

Naira ends month with 1.94% loss against dollar

The naira ended the month with a 1.94 percent lost as the dollar closed the month of June at N1,505.30 on Friday from N1,476.12 quoted at the beginning of the month, data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited showed.

This is despite an increase in dollar sales, which rose by 54.12 percent to $187.82 million on Friday from $121.87 million recorded on June 3, 2024.

At the parallel market, also known as black market, the naira lost 2.63 percent as the dollar was quoted at N1,520 to close FX trading for the month, compared to N1,480 quoted at the beginning of the month.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.