Banks maintained financial soundness stability as of the end of February, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria says. The MPC member, Aliyu Ahmed, disclosed this in his personal statements at the last MPC meeting which was released by the CBN on Tuesday.
He noted that the stock market witnessed a bearish performance largely due to profit taking activities of investors, uncertainty surrounding economic activities, and higher yields on some financial instruments.
According to him, broad money contracted by -0.59 per cent in January 2021 from 13.54 per cent in December 2020.
Ahmed said the annualised growth rate at -7.08 per cent was below the 2021 provisional benchmark of 4.66 per cent. He said credit continued an upward trajectory since the inception of the Loan to Deposit Ratio policy.
To improve prospects of continuing credit growth in the near future, he says commercial banks should be encouraged to show greater commitment and compliance with the LDR policy.
