On CBN’s Anchor Borrowers and Loan Defaulters by Ejike Okpa
I read with a keen interest a report in Economic Confidential that Tinubu Ordered Security Agencies to Recover N1trn from Loan Defaulters of CBN Anchor Borrowers Scheme
Something is fundamentally wrong when a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) acts like a deposit Bank.
Under the suspended Governor Godwin Emefiele, who came from a retail banking background, CBN operated like a petty cash kitty bank, making loans and taking repayments.
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With CBN co-mingling fiscal and monetary policies, it made Emefiele a powerful player and ruined the credibility and reputation of the institution that ought to stabilize the Naira.
If President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is serious about restoring the role of CBN and relegating its Governor to pure policy role, he must initiate a policy to ban lending of any sort from and by the monetary regulator.
If there is a sector preference to assist with financing and special funding, let the deposit banks take the lead backed a special provision on liquidity from CBN.
It is unheard of that a Central Bank lends money directly to borrowers circumventing its primary function.
But again, in Nigeria, anything sometimes goes. But don’t be surprised that the majority of the outstanding debts are held by political figures who are not involved in the sector.
They were appeased by Emefiele to keep the monkeys off his back.
Ejike E. OKPA GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST
