Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to increase the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 18 percent.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, revealed this on Tuesday while reading the communiqué from the second MPC meeting.
He said the committee also pegged the liquidity ratio at thirty percent.
The tightening of the rate according to the apex bank governor is expected to curtail inflation currently put at twenty-one percent.
Emefiele explained that the bank supports the Supreme Court’s decision because the currency in circulation (redesigned naira) is approximately one trillion naira.
He said that the bank will continue to pump more currency into the system but with caution.
Performance of the banking system
The central bank boss expressed confidence in the nations commercial banks stating that they have remained resilient with capital requirement at thirteen percent, non performing loans at four point two percent and cash reserve of the banks raising to fourteen trillion naira.