The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said a total of 339 million litres of petrol was distributed to 63 depots across the country in seven days. Data that The PUNCH obtained from the NNPCL and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority on Monday showed that the products were sent out between February 25 and March 3. According to Weekly National PMS Evacuation & Dispatch report, 339 million litres of petrol were distributed across the states, with Lagos getting the lion’s share of 1.73 billion litres. Delta State got 610 million litres; Oyo received 531 million litres and Ogun had 441 million litres to top the list of states that got petrol during this period. With a daily average distribution of about 48 million litres, and 63 million daily average, NNPCL and NMDPRA, said 79 per cent of all evacuation took place at the top 25 top loading depots with minimum evacuation of 5 million litres. Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, had last year said Nigeria consumed 66 million litres of petrol daily.Fuel scarcity resurfaced in some states, including Abuja this week. The PUNCH last week reported that depots were shut for some days before and after the presidential general on February 25, leading to fuel scarcity. The country has been battling a shortage of petrol since October, which forced it to rise to N500 per litre, before dropping back to N185 in February. The PUNCH observed a fairly long queue at NNPC retail station along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Tuesday. As of Monday, many filling stations were not selling fuel to motorists. However, on Tuesday, most stations reopened for business.
STOCK MARKET REBOUNDS AS INVESTORS GAIN N107BN
The Nigerian Exchange Limited on Wednesday rebounded as investors gained N107bn. The market had recorded about N1bn loss on Tuesday. The All-Share index and market capitalisation appreciated by 0.35 per cent to 55,801.14 and N30.397tn respectively. Since the beginning of the year, the ASI had moved 4,205.48 points and the year-to-date returns settled at 8.15 per cent returns. In terms of volume, 152,742,743 million shares were traded on the floor of the exchange in 3,293 deals, worth N3.572bn. The market breath was flat as 18 stocks gained in share price and 18 equities also suffered depreciation in their value. Leading the gainers were Trans Nationwide Express plc, Cutix and FTN Cocoa, with 9.88 per cent, 8.50 per cent and 7.69 per cent gain to close the market at N0.89, N2.17 and N0.28 per share respectively. At the end of trading, the losers’ table was led by MRS, which suffered a 9.98 per cent loss to close at N27.95, ABC Trans lost 7.89 per cent to close at N0.35 and Chams experienced a 7.41 per cent dip to close to at N0.25. The Financial Services sector had continued dominance on the most traded chart of the NGX on Wednesday, as 6,261,268 million shares of Zenith Bank, worth N162.465m were traded in 249 deals. Following was GTCO with 12,749,020 worth N335.933m traded in 227 deals. Shares of MTN Nigeria emerged the third most traded stock on the NGX at the end of trading as 598,909 shares worth N148.903m were exchanged in 189 deals.
CBN ISSUES GUIDELINES ON OPEN BANKING
The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria to ensure stability in the nation’s financial system. The apex bank in a circular referenced, ‘PSM/DIR/PUB/CIR/001/043’, and dated March 7, 2023, said the guidelines would create greater access to customer-focused data sharing between banks and third-party firms. The circular signed by the Director of Payment Services Management Department, Musa Jimoh, entitled, ‘Issuance of operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria’, said the guidelines were part of the Central Bank’s mandate to ensure financial stability in Nigeria. According to the circular, all stakeholders were mandated to ensure strict compliance with the guidelines and other regulationsThe circular read, “The Central bank of Nigeria in furtherance of its mandate for the stability of the financial system and pursuant to its role in deepening the financial system, at this moment issues the operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria. “The adoption of Open Banking in Nigeria will foster customer permissioned data between banks and third-party firms to enable the building of customer-focused products and services “It also aims to enhance efficiency, competition and access to financial services in Nigeria.“All stakeholders are required to ensure strict compliance with the guidelines and all other regulations, as the CBN continues to monitor developments and issue guidance as may be appropriate.” Open banking enables the sharing of customer-permissioned data between banks and third-party firms. This system allows banks to securely share their customer data with third-party companies, such as fintech and other financial service providers, with the consent of their customers.
BANKING SECTOR HAS REMAINED RESILIENT, SAYS CBN
Despite challenges in the economy, the Nigerian banking system has remained sound and resilient, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria. The CBN disclosed this in a statement by a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Kingsley Obiora, after its last meeting in Abuja. He stated that, “The banking system remains sound, safe, and resilient. Industry non-performing Loans decreased from 4.9 per cent in December 2021 to 4.2 per cent in December 2022, which was below the maximum prudential requirement of 5.0 per cent. “The decline in NPLs was attributable to write-offs, restructuring of facilities, Global Standing Instruction and sound credit risk management by banks. “Total assets of the banking industry grew by N14.36tn or 24.24 per cent from N59.24tn in December 2021 to N73.59tn in December 2022, driven by balances with CBN/banks, investments, and credit expansion to the real sector.” As a result, he said, total gross credit increased by N5.14tn or 20.93 per cent between the end of December 2021 and December 2022, from N24.57tn to N29.72tn, due to the increase in the industry funding base as well as the CBN’s directive on Loan to Deposit Ratio, which has encouraged banks to increase lending to the real sector of the economy, and business strategy and competition. He said the increase in credit to the key sectors of the economy was expected to bolster aggregate demand and promote economic growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation. Overall, he added, policymakers need to keep an eye on pre-existing macroeconomic imbalances and headwinds. He said the global economic slowdown (especially in the United States, the Euro Area and China), the Russian-Ukraine war.
S’COURT ORDER ON OLD NOTES: BANKS IN PARTIAL COMPLIANCE, BEGIN SKELETAL RE-CIRCULATION
Deposit Money Banks in the country have begun partial compliance with the Supreme Court order approving the use of old N1,000 and N500 and N200 notes as legal tender for 10 months. The Supreme Court had, last week ordered that the old naira notes should be allowed in circulation along with the new notes until December 31, 2023. The court had said the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy contravened the 1999 Constitution. On Monday, findings by The PUNCH revealed that commercial banks had begun partial compliance with the order even though the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation kept mum on the matter. Visits by our correspondents to several bank branches in Lagos, Abuja and other major cities revealed that some banks had commenced compliance with the Supreme Court order. The CBN and the AGF office had refused to comply with previous orders by the Supreme Court on the controversial naira redesign policy. Among others, the Supreme Court had on February 8, 2023 nullified the February 10 deadline stipulated by the CBN for the phasing out of the old naira notes.The CBN and the AGF office however failed to comply with the directive. While the CBN and AGF office failed to take a decision on the latest order by the Supreme Court order, some commercial banks on Monday began to pay their customers the old notes. Several Gtbank branches in Lagos and Abuja paid customers the old N1000 and N500 notes on Monday, according to findings by The PUNCH. Also, several branches of the United Bank for Africa paid customers the old N1000 and N500 notes. However, other commercial banks refused to paid their customers, saying they were awaiting CBN directive on the matter.
