|Economy|
CBN Seeks Improved Monetary and Fiscal Coordination to Tackle Macroeconomic Challenges: The Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Dr. Sarah Alade, revealed that achieving macroeconomic growth and stability require enhanced coordination between monetary and fiscal policy instruments. She said emerging challenges including low fiscal buffers, expansionary fiscal policy, high volume of maturing instruments and impact of external shocks as well as dwindling foreign exchange earnings, declining reserves and weak oil prices-all made it imperative for the monetary and fiscal authorities to improve coordination around their activities. Speaking in Abuja at the opening of the Fiscal Liquidity Assessment Committee retreat, she noted that these challenges had all redefined the boundaries of macroeconomic management thereby necessitating the need to redress mutual suspicion and hostility experienced globally between the two macroeconomic management institutions. Source: Thisday

FCT minister seeks CBN’s support for security fund: The Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, has solicited the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the establishment of the FCT Security Trust Fund to boost crime-fighting in the FCT. Mohammed said that the apex bank could assist the FCT Administration to work out a good financial framework for the operation of the trust fund. Source: Punch

SEC targets bond market to finance $3.9 trn infrastructure deficit: The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Ms Arunma Oteh, at the 4th Capital Market Committee retreat held in Abuja, disclosed that, the bond market has a lot of room for growth with debt-to-GDP ratio at only 11 percent compared to over 200 percent in Japan, 110 percent in Singapore, 103 percent in the United Kingdom, 103 percent in the United States (US) and over 60 percent in China. All round, liquidity needs to improve well beyond its current level. So we want a bond market that will enable us meet the infrastructure deficit estimated at USD3.9 trillion over the next 30 years. We want a market that does more for housing finance, enabling Nigeria close down the 17 million housing unit deficit while supporting entrepreneurship by doing more for SMEs and start-ups. Source: Vanguard

Naira depreciation persists in interbank, parallel market: The Naira fell to an all time low against the Dollar at the interbank and parallel exchange markets despite measures announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). At the interbank market, the Naira lost another 160 kobo against the Dollar as the interbank rate rose to an all time high of N178.70 per Dollar. Consequently, the Naira depreciated by N13.05 or 7.87 percent against the Dollar in November. Source: Vanguard