• Deposit institutions to slow down on job cuts

The much expected detailed template for the operation of the recently introduced flexible regime in the management of the country’s foreign exchange may not be quick in coming as anticipated as the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) is taking its time to distill inputs from money deposit banks on the matter to ensure that the best template is designed for the operation in the country.

Also, money deposit banks that have been rationalizing staff as a direct response to the zero growth in the economy in the first quarter of the year as well as the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account ( TSA ) fiscal policy yesterday pledged to slow down on the exercise because of the negative impact the exercise was already causing to families and the economy as a whole.

These indications emerged yesterday at the end of the 327th meeting of the Bankers’ Committee Meeting which held at the headquarters of the CBN in Abuja.

Speaking on the new forex regime the retiring Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of United Bank for Africa, Mr. Philip Udouza said the promised framework for the operation of the flexible forex regime was still being formulated arising from inputs by banks in response to an exposure draft sent to them by the apex bank that would fit the Nigerian peculiar jurisdiction and warned those speculating on the Naira that they would be the looser once the framework was concluded and released.

“We want to make sure that we come up with a model that is very robust and very comprehensive that will be able to address the major exchange rate issues that we are dealing with. To this extent, we have gotten a lot of input from various stakeholders and these inputs are being distilled with a view to getting a robust flexible exchange rate model.”

Speaking on the pledge by banks to slowdown on staff rationalization, , the Managing Director, Standard Chartered Bank ,Mrs Bola Adelola, said: ” Obviously banks understand the implications of people not being on employment and so we are looking at ways to ensure that we minimize any more exits from our situation.

As a matter of fact, it is something we had discussed in the past where the CBN governor prevailed on the banks to minimize any exit from the institutions.”