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CBN, banks to blacklist exporters for non-repatriation of dollar earnings

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CBN, banks to blacklist exporters for non-repatriation of dollar earnings

The Bankers Committee comprising the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Chief Executive Officers of commercial banks operating in the country on Thursday agreed to blacklist any exporters who fail to repatriate export proceeds.

The committee through its Chairman, Director, Banking Supervision of CBN, Mr. Ahmad Abdullahi, disclosed to newsmen after their meeting in Lagos yesterday, that the regulatory sanction is necessary to enable the bank track Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, and maintain stability in the foreign exchange market.

He explained that the sanction will be by way of blacklisting them, such that the concerned exporter will not have access to any banking transaction with commercial banks.

It worthy of notes that as part of efforts to arrest the situation, the Central Bank recently approved two funding shemes and appointed Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank as the fund manager.

The schemes are N500billion Export Stimulation Facility (ESF) and the N50 billion Export Rediscounting & Refinacing Facility (RRF).

The purposee of the latter is to create a liquidity window for banks that have supported exporters to ensure continuous flow of credit to the export sector and in the process reduce the cost of funds to the exporter.

Explaining the N500 billion intervention funds for the export sector, Mr. Abdullahi, said that the apex initiative to support export, so as to enable exporters access funds in order to boost their businesses.

He, however, threatened that erring exporters risked being blacklisted such that they may not have the access to other banking services, because there is a provision in the foreign exchange manual that requires all exporters to repatriate the proceeds on their exports.

“The fact is that, a number of exporters don’t and so the bankers committee deliberated on that matter and find out the need to sanction appropriately those exporters, and part of the sanction could be the blacklisting of an exporter such that they may not have the access to other banking services”, he added.

Also, the Managing Director/CEO, Unity Bank Plc, Mrs. Tomi Somefun, explained that the N26 billion special for agric SMEs, even though there are other intervention funds for SMEs, but this is an equitive funds for agric SMEs as regards.

She said that the frame work would come out very shortly but disbursement will begins in the last quater of this year.

“It is an equity funds and to that extent, the body of banks would be sharedholders in such agric SMEs, so it is not a loan it is an equity funds”, she stressed.

Meanwhile, the committee also recognized the fact that the Africa’s largest economy growth remains fragile, with the o.55 per cent even though it is a good development compare to the negative of 2.5 per cent that we witness in the middle of 2016.

According to the Chairman of the committee, “I have to recogned stability in the forex market, vibrancy in the capital market, and also in the economic growth. And we are also happy  to know the moderation in inflation, so all these aside that more hardwork in the GDP is going to be more deeper and more robust.”

Oriyomi Olamiposi

NEWSVERGE, published by The Verge Communications is an online community of international news portal and social advocates dedicated to bringing you commentaries, features, news reports from a Nigerian-African perspective. The Verge Communications (NEWSVERGE) is fully registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a corporate organization.

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