google_ad_client = “ca-pub-1865128810542670”; google_ad_slot = “5692913346”; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; In May, oil prices averaged $52 per barrel, from an average of $38 in 2016, while production rose some 10 percent to 1.6 million barrels daily, according to OPEC data. Despite the rise in May, banks’ foreign asset holdings are yet to recover to 2014 levels, when oil prices were in the region of $100 per barrel, dollars were easier to access and the economy was in relatively good shape. The slowdown in importation, acute dollar shortages and the collapse of trading on the interbank foreign exchange market, affected the banks’ ability to hold foreign assets over the last 16 months, according to Johnson Chukwu, CEO of Lagos-based financial advisory firm, Cowry Assets. “However, the newly introduced Investors’ and Exporters’ window, where the CBN has been more flexible, is seeing increased levels of activity and has also spurred appetite for holdings of foreign assets again,” Chukwu said by phone. Over the level at end-December 2016, foreign assets (net) declined by 6.7 per cent at end-May 2017, compared with the decline of 20.6 per cent and 7.9 per cent at the end of the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2016, respectively. “The development reflected decline in the foreign asset holdings of the CBN and DMBs,” the CBN report read. Banks are beginning to build firepower to fund foreign trade as dollar liquidity improves and exchange rate volatility abates, a senior bank source who did not want to be named, said. “The recent trend in Eurobond sales shows that banks see opportunities in trade financing and are building buffers,” the source said. “We have seen an improvement in the number of letters of credit, bills being settled and remittances being allowed,” the source added. In May, Nigeria’s second-biggest bank, Zenith, issued a USD$500 million senior bond, due May 2022 with a yield of 7.375 percent, in a deal that was four times oversubscribed. UBA, the third-biggest lender by market value, also raised USD$500 million in its first Eurobond sale on June 1 at yields below initial guidance. Diamond Bank also sold USD200 million in 5-year Eurobonds, which pay a coupon of 8.75 percent. Nigerian banks are also boosting dollar-spending limits for payment cards denominated in local currency, as much as tenfold because of improved foreign-exchange supply. Guaranty Trust Bank, the country’s biggest bank by market value, raised the maximum amount a holder of its naira Mastercard can spend abroad in a month, to $1,000 from $100. Ecobank Transnational Inc. has set a $1,000 per month limit from $100 while FCMB Group Plc will start implementing its new spending limit of $500 per month this week, according to their officials. Nigerian lenders cut or suspended foreign payments using naira cards in 2015 and 2016 as a decline in the price and output of oil, the country’s main export, caused a plunge in foreign income and prompted the Central Bank of Nigeria to introduce controls to reduce dollar demand. The Central Bank’s creation of a market-determined foreign-exchange trading window for investors and exporters in April has increased banks’ access to dollars. “The change in the withdrawal limit is another signal that banks are less concerned about foreign exchange liquidity than before,’’ London-based Exotix Capital, said in a July 14 note to clients. Business Day To Receive Free News Updates, Add To Your WhatsApp: 08033857245; For Adverts Enquiries, Call 08083609209, To Publish Your Articles Or News Stories, Email editor@skytrendnews.com. READ ALSO! EXCLUSIVE: Armed Robbery Attack At Zenith Bank Southeast Owerri That Killed One (WATCH VIDEO) READ ALSO! 7 Women Lure Two Men Into Their Car, Rape Them Serially Inside A Bush READ ALSO! REVEALED: How Brave Policeman That Shot Dead Armed Robber In Viral Owerri Video Died READ ALSO! Why Celebrity Marriages Will Continue To Crash — Comedian, Bash READ ALSO! Shock As Married Woman Dies In Hotel Room In Enugu With Alleged Lover READ ALSO! Mercy Aigbe Visits UK Hospital For Treatment READ ALSO! OWERRI ROBBERY: Nigerian Police Under Fire For Disparity In Their Claim Versus The Viral CCTV Video READ ALSO! UPDATE: Why Nigerian Soldier Who Killed Suspected Boko Haram Terrorist Was Sentenced To Death]]>