Economist tasks CBN on credit expansion policies for private sector

An economist, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella on Friday urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pursue policies geared toward credit expansion for private sector in 2020.

Tella, Professor of Economics, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He urged the CBN to put in place policies that would force banks to make sure remittances come in hard currency rather than allow bank branches and correspondent banks to keep the foreign currencies with them abroad while beneficiaries were paid naira at home.

According to him, this will assist the CBN in having foreign currencies to meet demands for industrial inputs.

He also stressed the need for the apex bank to review its policy on public participation in treasury bills.

“It is the public that should buy treasury bills to mop up liquidity from them while banks are directed to lend to private sector with punishment for failure to do so,” Tella said.

On capital market, he said that expansion of the economy and improvement in capacity utilisation and productivity would force manufacturing firms to seek expansion fund from the capital market.

The economist called for collaboration between Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and CBN to review listing requirements and develop new capital market instruments to attract unlisted firms to improve activities on the Exchange.

He added that SEC needed to see how to take advantage of the new surge in financial integration with adoption of eco currency to attract participants from West African sub-region.