Commercial banks in Nigeria told customers, on Sunday, that they would allow deposits of foreign currency to be transferred abroad from their accounts, just days after the Central Bank announced it was easing restrictions on foreign cash deposits. The CBN last week announced that it would allow commercial banks to accept cash deposits of foreign currency, reversing a restriction imposed last year when such deposits were banned to curb speculation. Stanbic IBTC and Guaranty Trust Bank were among two commercial banks which sent emails and text messages to customers informing them that transfers of foreign cash to accounts in other countries, which had also been prohibited, were now acceptable. “You can now transfer foreign currency cash deposits made into your GT Bank domiciliary account(s) via internet banking, Mobile App or at any of our branches nationwide, subject to a daily cumulative limit of $10,000,” GT Bank said in an email as reported by Reuters. The central bank’s announcement also halted dollar sales to non-bank foreign exchange operators, a move that leaves Nigerians struggling to find dollars on the parallel market amid tight liquidity. The naira is pegged at around 198 to the dollar on the official interbank market but slid to a record low of N305 on the parallel market last week amid low FX reserves.
