Of late, the Central Bank of Nigeria has been in the news. Its decision to set a floor (initially at 60 per cent, but subsequently increased to 65 per cent) on how much of their deposits banks may lend, has sent ripples through the industry. Its resolve not to go back on its pledge to put a cap on how much banks may invest in risk-free short-dated government gilts and raise banks' minimum capital requirements, continues to ricochet around the financial services sector's many echo chambers. Viewed through a certain lens, the consensus is that the apex bank only strengthened its resolve to drive domestic growth.
In this sense, the consensus underlined a different reality: that over the last five years, the central bank has contrived to dominate the conversation on the economy and preferred outcomes. The renewal of the central bank governor's tenure in June, and his choice on resumption to announce these new policy thrusts, along with other thrusts enumerated in the bank's Five-year Policy Thrust document, were arguably the novelties.
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