COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
US Capitol complex temporarily shut down
Champion Breweries gains 32.35% in a week, following Heineken’s indirect acquisition of its shares
Kinyungu Ventures Research calls for changes to cut-and-paste VC strategy in Africa
Flour Mills shares lose N7.4 billion on NSE, as investors book profit
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
Daily Parallel Market Exchange Rate – ₦470/$1
4 cryptos gain over 400% in a month, far outperforming Bitcoin
Naira remains stable across forex markets as external reserve continues to rise
Oil prices tumble on fears of global economic recovery
Financial Services
CIBN: Our economic challenges are of a global dimension – Emefiele
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has said that the challenges facing Nigeria’s economy are of a global dimension.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele has said that the challenges facing Nigeria’s economy are of a global dimension and not peculiar to Nigeria.
Emefiele said this while given his speech at the 55th Annual Bankers Dinner hosted by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) 0n Friday, November 27, 2020.
In his opening address, Mr. Emefiele congratulated the CIBN for the annual event, which he was attending for the sixth time since assuming the role of CBN Governor in June 2014.
According to him, each of the dinners provided him ample opportunity to discuss with the key stakeholders in the banking and finance community on critical issues and events shaping the economy, as well as policy measures put in place by the CBN towards revamping and growing the economy.
He enumerated several issues and challenges facing the economy, which were not peculiar to Nigeria but global. Hence, nothing for the country to panic about.
In his words, “We confess that the problem we face today is of a global dimension. The Global Economy is challenged, just like the Nigerian economy. My appeal to our media analysts is that in the course of conducting their analysis of the Nigerian economy, they should realise that their public comments, particularly if they are alarmist, could create panic in our environment.
“We cherish their counsel, but urge that they be more constructive in their pungent criticism as this could hamper our efforts to return our country and economy back to recovery. When you over dramatize a problem, you create panic that slows the process of recovery.”
According to Emefiele, the times have been challenging, as the COVID-19 pandemic completely ravaged the global economy, but it was quite reassuring that a solution would soon emerge, with the reports of developments of appropriate vaccines by several firms to tackle the dreaded disease.
Mr. Emefiele said, “Like other economies, the Nigerian economy was not immune from the COVID-19 shock in 2020. Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by -3.4 percent in the third quarter, a welcome improvement from the – 6.1 percent recorded in the second quarter. The negative rate of growth was due to a series of external factors in addition to the lockdown measures, imposed in order to curtail the spread of the virus.”
Emefiele challenged the banks to optimally harness the huge value-chain opportunities in several sectors of the economy through their intermediation functions, saying:
“Let me also add that while COVID-19 has brought on several challenges to our economy and indeed the banking sector, it offers a unique opportunity for us to build a more resilient economy that is better able to contain external shocks, whilst supporting growth and wealth creation in key sectors of our economy.
“Proactive steps on the part of stakeholders in the banking and financial system in supporting the growth of sectors such as agriculture, ICT and infrastructure, will strengthen our ability to deal with the challenges that have been brought on by COVID-19, while enabling the growth of our economy in general.”
Bottom line
With a sustained and consistent implementation of the intervention measures, the Nigerian economy is expected to rebound from recession by the first quarter of 2021 (Q1 2021).
However, this depends to a large extent, on the full restoration of economic activities in key sectors, as well as the production of appropriate COVID vaccines that will be made available to millions of people across the world.
Debt Securities
Interest rates will remain low until the end of H1 2021 – Meristem Securities
Meristem Securities has argued that interest rates will remain low until, at least, the end of H1 2021.
Meristem Securities has asserted that interest rates will remain low until, at least, the end of H1 2021.
This statement was made at the recently held webinar on Global Economy and Outlook, which the company themed: Bracing for a Different Future.
Although the company acknowledged that there is mounting pressure for upward movement in yields from several stakeholders, it appears the company concurs nothing concrete is in sight.
This line of reasoning seems to have influenced their decision to advise investors to move away from Treasury instruments.
What they are saying
Meristem advises that:
- “Buy and hold strategy investors seeking to generate above average returns should move away from risk free Treasury instruments and focus on investment grade commercial papers and bonds which satisfy investment objectives.”
- “Active traders with higher risk appetite are advised to focus on high-yield short duration instruments, which would be re-invested into a higher yield environment should rate reversals occur.”
The advice regarding shunning Treasury instruments appears to be in order, considering that treasury bill rate has been declining, with the latest figure — November 2020 — 0.03% as per the CBN monthly interest rate data.
Further checks from the Debt Management Office website, indicates that the latest figures for Eurobonds and Diaspora bond fall short of the fixed yield at issue for all the different categories of bonds in issue.
What you should know
Latest figures from the CBN’s monthly interest rate indicate that:
- Treasury bill rate has been on a steady decline for six months, down to 0.03% since the last rise (2.47%) in May 2020.
- Fixed deposit rates (one, three, six and twelve months) have also been declining – the latest figures for these indicate that in November 2020, one-month deposit rate was 1.92%, 2.9% for three months, 2.84% for six months, and 4.89% for 12 months.
- Compared with the corresponding period in 2019, the figures indicate that these rates fell by 75%, 66%, 71% and 49% respectively.
Financial Services
CBN issues framework for QR payments
CBN has issued a framework that would guide Quick response (QR) code payments in Nigeria.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued the framework that would guide Quick Response (QR) Code Payments in Nigeria.
This is a proactive move by the Apex bank towards ensuring the safety and stability of the Nigerian Financial System, as well as promoting the use and adoption of electronic payments and foster innovation in the payments system.
READ: Over 1 million people took loans from banks below 20% interest rate in 1 year- CBN
Quick Response (QR) Codes are matrix barcodes representing information presented as square grids, made up of black squares against a contrasting background that can be scanned by an imaging device, processed and transmitted by appropriate technology.
The codes are used to present, capture and transmit payments information across payments infrastructure and further enable the mobile channel to facilitate payments and present another avenue for promoting electronic payments for micro and small enterprises.
READ: Binance offers DeFi coders $100,000; DeFi market value hits $8 billion
What you should know
- Quick Response (QR) codes are two-dimensional bar codes. QR code payments allow merchants to receive payments from customers simply by scanning generated QR codes using a smartphone camera. The QR code payments carry the purchase transaction information to the mobile device of the buyer/customer.
- Making payments via QR codes is very secure. It is because the QR code is nothing but just a tool that is used to exchange information. Any data which is transferred via QR codes is encrypted, thus making the payment secure.
- The Participants in QR Code Payment in Nigeria include Merchants, Customers, Issuers (Banks, MMOs and Other Financial Institutions), Acquirers (Banks, MMOs and Other Financial Institutions) and Payments Service Providers.
- QR payments are increasingly becoming a popular means of payments in Nigeria, and some industry players would see the framework as a perfect way of regulating the sector.
- QR codes are capable of storing lots of data. But no matter how much they contain, when scanned, the QR code should allow the user to access information instantly. It can be used for payments, sharing contacts and Wi-Fi passwords and lots more.
- The popular and common argument is that since POS machines are expensive, cheaper options such as QR scanners should be pushed forward to local traders.
READ: Telecoms, FSI to hugely boost Nigerian Economy in 2021 – CWG’s Business Director
Financial Services
CBN unveils framework for regulatory sandbox operations
CBN has issued a regulatory Sandbox framework towards engaging with the operators in the Fintech space.
Virtual Reader
November 29, 2020 at 12:10 pm
Excuse me sir, do you mean to write CBN? Because I don’t understand what you meant by CIBN and you didn’t mention the meaning in the entire article.
Kindly correct if it’s an error.