Monetary authorities in Nigeria are currently being faced with very difficult choices in the trade-off between tackling inflation, supporting growth and exchange rate stability, the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sarah Alade, has said.
She noted that achieving appropriate macroeconomic policies had continued to be a great challenge to the monetary authorities.
The CBN revealed this at the maiden breakfast meeting of the Association of Corporate Treasurers of Nigeria held in Lagos with the theme, ‘The Economic Outlook for 2017 and its Impact on the Corporate Sector’.
“The monetary authorities are currently faced with very difficult choices in the trade off between tackling inflation, supporting growth and exchange rate stability,” Alade stressed.
According to her, the survival of the financial system rested chiefly on the shoulders of corporate treasurers.
The apex bank also urged corporate treasurers to collectively begin to take measures to fine-tune the effectiveness of the monetary policy transmission mechanism to ensure increased financial intermediation.
“As treasurers, you are in a vintage position to know where the shoe pinches and you can collectively address the nuances in the system. The weather ahead is not so friendly but dogged determination by your good selves will help ride the stormy headwinds,” Alade, who was represented by the Director, Monetary Policy, CBN, Moses Tule, said.
“As treasurers, you all know that stability is a key business objective,” she noted.
The ACTN is a professional association launched on December 12, 2012 to foster the interests of corporate treasurers of the buy-side and non-bank sell-side of the Nigerian financial markets by providing the platform for policy advocacy, discussions on issues of mutual interest, education/enlightenment and standards development of the corporate treasury function.
The breakfast meeting had a panel session on currency, funding and liquidity management.
The Chief Executive Officer, Citi Bank Nigeria, Akin Dawodu, one of the discussants at the panel session said, “2017 is really just another year. Corporate treasurers must be concerned about the liquidity situation of their institutions. That is an important factor they must all be concerned about. For medium to small-sized corporates, they should expect to see liquidity challenges within a tight monetary policy environment. They have to keep a focus on liquidity of their corporate.”
Also speaking, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Bola Onadele, urged corporate treasurers to always articulate their problems and think of solutions from the bankers and investment bankers.
“In 2017, private company bond rules will be published by FMDQ. This will enable the private companies to tap from the debt capital market,” he added. – Punch.
