Babajide Okeowo
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rose from its just-concluded meeting to leave key policy rates unchanged from the last meeting.
The benchmark interest rate (MPR) was retained at 13.50%, the asymmetric corridor retained at +200bps and -500bps around the MPR
The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) retained at 22.50%; while the Liquidity Ratio was retained at 30.00%.
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CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, made this revelation after the meeting came to a close, on Tuesday, in Abuja.
Nine out of the 11 members present voted for the hold, and two favored a 25 basis-point cut. In March, most members votes for reductions of either 25 or 50 basis points.
Inflation remains above the upper end of the authorities’ target range of 6 percent to 9 percent and price risks could elevate after a recently approved 67 percent increase in the national minimum wage
The committee called on the central banks’ management to provide a mechanism for limiting deposit banks’ access to government securities so that lenders’ focus will be oriented to providing funds to the private sector.
