The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, provided updates on the status of foreign exchange (FX) backlogs owed by banks during an investor call hosted by the Nigerian Exchange Group.
According to Cardoso, the CBN has successfully cleared FX backlogs in all banks except for five, with plans to resolve these remaining cases in the coming days.
Cardoso assured investors, stating, “Basically, what we have done with those is that we have paid as much as we can to the point where we have cleared the backlog of all the banks save five. All the banks’ genuine and verifiable backlogs have been cleared, save five.” He expressed confidence that these remaining cases would be resolved shortly, emphasizing his commitment to fulfilling promises made regarding FX backlog clearance.
The apex bank governor also disclosed that Nigeria had attracted $2 billion in foreign portfolio inflows since the beginning of the year. This figure marks a significant portion of the total foreign portfolio inflows recorded in 2023, which stood at $3 billion according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Cardoso’s remarks follow previous statements where he revealed challenges within the FX backlog, including discrepancies totaling $2.4 billion. These issues ranged from invalid import documents to requests from non-existent entities. He highlighted the CBN’s efforts to address these infractions and ensure transparency in FX transactions, underscoring the importance of maintaining integrity in the banking system.
