BREAKING: MPC Retains Benchmark Lending Rates

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 14 per cent, alongside other parameters.

The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, made this known while briefing journalists shortly after the two-day MPC meeting held on Tuesday at the apex bank’s headquarters in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Mr. Emefiele also said the committee retained other monetary policy parameters such as the Cash Reserves Ratio at 22.5 per cent, Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent and the Asymmetric Corridor at 200 basis points.

The CBN governor explained that the committee considered holding the rates because it would allow more clarity for the economy.

The key interest rate serves as the national lending rate in the country.

“The committee noted that the negative real interest rates did not support the recent flexible foreign-exchange market as foreign investors’ attitude had remained lukewarm, showing unwillingness in bringing in new capital,” Emefiele said.

“The MPC was further concerned that while the situation called for obvious tightening of the monetary policy stance, the technical recession confronting the economy and the prospects of negative growth to year-end needed to be factored into the policy parameters.”

The committee also said investors favoured the investors forex window to the parallel market.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy recently came out of recession, after data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the economy experienced positive gross domestic product growth for the first time since August 2016.