The Central Bank of Nigeria plans to boost development of domestic credit in the country. “The bank will explore the possibility of leveraging technology to enhance credit to critical sectors of the economy, especially, agriculture and manufacturing,” it stated.
The Apex Bank recently announced a policy to refund portions of CRR to banks that are financing new projects (or expanding existing ones). It added that funding of agriculture and manufacturing sectors would be intensified and enriched in the coming years.
“This, we believe, will bolster job creation while supporting our agenda to correct Nigeria’s imbalances and vulnerabilities,” it stated. The CBN also said its monetary policy stance would remain judicious, research-driven, adequate and supportive of the economy.
It stated, “The current tight stance is expected to continue in the near-term, especially in view of rising inflation expectations and exchange market pressures. “Though we will act to appropriately adjust the policy rate in line with unfolding conditions and outlooks, the CBN will continue to ensure that the policy interest rate is delicately set to balance the objectives of price stability with output stabilisation.”
Recently, while speaking on the global and domestic headwinds as a nation and the volatility that was being experienced in the crude oil market, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, noted that it was cogent to work very hard to spur job creation by reviving agricultural and industrial activities in the country.
The CBN governor said, “If we continue to support the growth of smallholder farmers, as well as help to revive palm oil refineries, rice mills, cassava and tomato processing factories, you can only imagine the amount of wealth and jobs that will be created in the country.
“These could include new set of smallholder farmers that will be engaged in productive activities; new logistics companies that will transport raw materials to factories, and finished goods to the market; new storage centres that will be built to store locally produced goods; additional growth for our banks and financial institutions as they will be able to provide financial services to support these new businesses; and finally, the millions of Nigerians that will be employed in factories to support processing of goods.”
https://punchng.com/cbn-to-boost-domestic-credit-with-technology
