Naira Crunch May End Soon as CBN Releases Cash to Banks

The lingering cash crunch and bone-crushing hardship caused by the poor execution of the new naira policy may soon ease off if the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is to be believed.

The apex bank announced, Saturday, that it had evacuated bank notes from its vaults to commercial banks across the country. The action, the CBN said, was part of a coordinated effort to ease the circulation of banknotes of various denominations.

Consequently, the apex bank said it had also directed all commercial banks to open for operation on Saturdays and Sundays.

Dr. Isa AbdulMumin,, CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, revealed  this in Abuja, on Friday, saying that a substantial amount of money, in various denominations, had been received by the commercial banks for onward circulation to their respective customers.

According to him, the CBN had directed all banks to load their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) as well as conduct physical operations in the banking halls through the weekends.

“Branches of commercial banks will operate on Saturdays and Sundays to attend to customers’ cash needs,” he noted, adding that the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, would personally lead teams to monitor the level of compliance by the banks in various locations across the country.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to be patient as the current situation would ease soon with the injection of more banknotes into circulation.