Economy
LCCI to CBN: Cash Reserve Ratio of 22.5% too High
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reduce the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) so as to increase credit to the private sector.
Business Post reports that a cash reserve ratio is a part of the total deposits of customers commercial banks keep with the central bank as reserves. In Nigeria, the CBN requests banks to have a minimum a CCR of 22.5 percent.
But President of the LCCI, Mr. Babatunde Ruwase, while speaking with The Nation, said the 22.5 percent CRR requested by the CBN was too high.
According to him, the current CRR regime was not effective because banks were grappling with bottlenecks in accessing the facility. He suggested that the CRR framework should be made flexible and faster by the nation’s apex banking sector regulatory agency.
Mr Ruwase added that the Federal Government needed to reduce the current rate at which it mops up money from the banks because it makes the cost of funds higher for the banks.
He, however, gave kudos to the CBN for its various efforts on job creation, improving credit for MSMEs, intervention in the agricultural sector, building robust payment system, exchange rate stability and maintaining strong external reserve, among others.
LCCI, he said, was in support of the move by the CBN in developing a Trade Receivable Portal to enable Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) trade their invoices with financial institutions to improve their cash flow.
Ruwase, however, expressed doubt on the feasibility of the concept, saying, “We are, however, sceptical about the workability of this laudable idea judging by the current disposition of commercial banks to lending to MSMEs, except this trend is reversed,”
He further commended the desire of the CBN to boost consumer spending through a lending framework that will involve large departmental stores, equipment leasing companies, automobile companies in partnership with financial institutions and credit bureaus.
Ruwase urged the CBN to put all the necessary measures in place before commencement to ensure that the intended goal is achieved nothing that consumer spending is critical towards ensuring economic growth.
While acknowledging that all efforts put in place by the CBN in the last five years yielded the intended results, the economist commended the CBN’s five-year master plan.
“This five-year plan of the CBN is indeed laudable and commendable. However, we recognise that the role of the CBN is in using monetary policies to stimulate growth of the economy while some of the planned targets are fiscal in nature.
“It will, therefore, requires that a framework for collaboration with the major economic ministries and other stakeholders be put in place to be able to fully actualise what the CBN sets out to accomplish in the next five years,” Ruwase said.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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