Members of the Bankers’ Committee rose from their 326th meeting yesterday in Lagos to declare that the foreign exchange (forex) crisis facing the country cannot be resolved immediately.
Speaking on behalf of the committee members, Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Segun Agbaje, said there is no magic to resolving the forex hitches, except for the country to deepen its import substitution plans.
Manufacturers and other real sector operators have been finding it difficult to access forex to import raw materials as crude oil prices plunge.
The bank chief said growing the local forex base for the country is key, and would ensure that overtime, the country will be able to meet the forex demands of its manufacturers and other real sector operators. “The way to deal with the supply gap is to develop import substitution. What we have today is backlog that needs to be met. I do not think there is any magic that will be done to meet all thee demands except to promote import substitution,” he said.
Agbaje hower, said the good news is that prices of crude oil have moved from $27 per barrel in January to around $37 to $40 per barrel. “As a nation, we pray that while we are working on the forex demand, the prices of crude oil also move up.
CBN Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, said the rise in the volume of non-perfoming loans (NPLs) to five per cent average is not unexpected given the level of stress many businesses have faced over low crude oil prices.
