The Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) has confirmed that ensuring foreign exchange is available for letter of credit (L/C) transactions for hydrocarbon and raw material imports are key priorities for the Nigerian banking sector.

The CBN confirmed this in the wake of a decision by Nigeria's commercial banks to restrict the use of debit or creditcards outside the country.

National priorities

"Our priorities as a nation for the use of foreign exchange are: 1) forthe settlement of matured L/Cs opened forimportation; 2) for the importation of petroleum products... and;3) forthe importation of raw materials," according to the CBN's director of monetary policy, Moses Tule.

He pointed out that preserving foreign exchange for the settlement of private debit and credit card transactions made by Nigerians abroad, often for shopping purchases, was unlikely to find its way onto the priority list.

Clarification

The director also clarified that the restrictions on credit and debit cards had been imposed, not as some reports suggested by the CBN, but by Nigeria's commercial banks.

Tule added that the CBN sympathises with Nigerians unable to use their credit and debitcards abroad but explained that foreign exchange usage need to be prioritised because hard currency is in relatively short supply at the moment in Nigeria due to low oil prices.

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