Nigerian interbank rate up as glitches hit CBN

Nigeria’s overnight interbank lending rate rose to 13 percent on Friday from 10 percent as some commercial banks were unable to access credit lines due to technical problems at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) system, traders told Reuters.

“We have been trading blind as we have not been able to access our credit balance with the central bank as a result of glitches since Oct. 25,” one dealer said.

Traders said the bank had sold open market operations (OMO) treasury bills worth 117.83 billion naira on Thursday to take out excess liquidity.

The Central Bank of Nigeria also recalled around 39 billion naira to meet cash reserves requirements for commercial lenders.

The CBN also sold around $330 million in 60-day forwards to clear a backlog of foreign exchange demand from manufacturing firms on Tuesday.

“We expect rate to trend up slightly next week as market liquidity gradually dries up,” another dealer said.

The naira closed at 470 to the dollar on the black market, same level since last week, and traded at 305 a dollar on the official market.