During a post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), issued an apology to the Nigerian people for the problems they encountered while attempting to complete various e-payment transactions. Although Emefiele acknowledged that some isolated issues persisted, he assured the public that these problems were being addressed.
When questioned about the safety of Nigerian banks in the wake of the U.S. bank collapses, Emefiele asserted that Nigerian banks had no exposure to the failed American institutions. He emphasized that all Nigerian banks were secure thanks to the prudential guidelines established by the CBN to safeguard them against catastrophic collapses that could result in the loss of depositors’ funds. According to Emefiele, depositors have not lost any money due to bank crises since 2008 because of these guidelines.
Emefiele also reminded bank shareholders that holding a banking license is a privilege, not a right, and that the CBN could revoke it if shareholders acted inappropriately. He stressed that the CBN would rather eliminate shareholders than jeopardize depositors’ funds.
Finally, following the MPC meeting, it was decided to raise the Monetary Policy Rate to 18% from 17.5% in January.
