Author: Marketforces Africa

DMO Appoints Stanbic as New Stockbroker for Nigerian Govt. The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday unveiled Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd. as the new stockbrokers of the Federal Government. This is coming after the expiration of the tenure of CSL Stockbrokers Ltd., a subsidiary of First City Monument Bank (FCMB). According to the Director-General of DMO, Patience Oniha, Stanbic is a comprehensive financial house with which the Federal Government has done business in other areas. Oniha described the Stanbic brand as strong and respected with a wide reach. “It is a name that is familiar to our target investors,  and…

Interbank Rates Fall as N1.3trn TBills Inflow Boosts Liquidity Banking liquidity deficit improved due to substantial inflows from non-refinanced Treasury bills that matured on Thursday. According to market analysts, interbank rates fell as N1.3 trillion in inflows from matured Treasury bills bolstered liquidity levels in the financial system. The financial system liquidity showed improvement at the opening but remained in negative territory, even after the net credit from the Nigerian Treasury bills auction settlement. Consequently, interbank rates remained elevated, with the overnight policy rate (OPR) and the overnight rate (O/N) ending at 32.25% and 32.67%, respectively. Analysts anticipate a slight…

Equities Investors Lose N26bn as Banking Index Slips Equities investors lost about N26 billion in the stock market on Thursday as the Central Bank maintains 27.50% interest rate benchmark. The Nigerian Exchange, NGX, closed negatively following market reactions to the monetary authority’s decision to keep all parameters unchanged. Some analysts predicted the positive real return on fixed interest securities will drive investment into the segment as interest rate surpass inflation. Inflation fell, but interest rate environment remained tight, upturning the negative interest yield trend in the financial market. Major tickers that fell include ARADEL (-2.72%), ACCESSCORP (-2.18%), NB (-2.86%), FIDELITY…

MPC Keeps Benchmark Interest Rate at 27.50% The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at today’s policy meeting voted to retain the benchmark interest rate at 27.50% as the inflation rate fell sharply to 24.48%. At the end of the two-day meeting, the monetary authority also agreed to retain the asymmetric corridor at +500bps/-100bps. The Cash Reserves Ratio (CRR) for deposit money banks is also kept at 50.0% and merchant banks at 16.0%. The committee also retain liquidity rate at 30.0% …to be continued

Riskoff Sentiment Provokes Surge in Nigerian Eurobonds Yield The Nigerian Eurobonds yield rose slightly due to foreign investors’ riskoff sentiment in the international market. Bearish sentiment across Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobonds market, covering short-, mid-, and long-term maturities, led to a 0.03% increase in the average yield, closing at 9.08%. There is an expectation of possible shift in monetary policy following a sharp decline in headline inflation. Analysts said interest rate hike in near impossible at this time due to the need to keep economic growth on track. Policy rate cut or hold are more visible as real returns on naira assets…

US Reciprocal Trade Policy Widens Range of Potential Tariff Outcomes –Fitch The US administration’s inclusion of a broad range of factors in its assessment of whether trade relations with foreign trading partners are fair and reciprocal will increase uncertainty over the scale of tariffs that could be introduced, and which markets could be affected, says Fitch Ratings. Sovereigns that have significant export exposure to the US could face additional economic risks relative to our base case, from both the actual introduction of US tariffs and uncertainty over possible tariff outcomes. The policy unveiled on 13 February indicates that the US…

Access Bank Plc Receives AA/A1+ Issuer Ratings from GCR GCR Ratings has assigned national scale long- and short-term issuer ratings of AA(NG) and A1+(NG) respectively, to Access Bank Plc, with outlook accorded as stable. According to GCR, the bank’s ratings reflect its position as the largest bank in Nigeria by assets, as well as its growing presence across key markets in Africa and beyond. Access’ well-established ability to acquire funding via local and international financiers and good asset quality also underpin the ratings, according to the rating note. “Being the largest subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc– a financial holding company…

Oil Prices Decline as U.S Stockpiles Surpass Target Oil prices fell in the global commodities market on Thursday following an increase in U.S. crude oil inventories. A surge in US stockpiles and ongoing efforts for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal were offset by concerns over supply. Brent crude fell by 0.02%, trading at $75.79 per barrel while the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased by 0.06%, settling at $72.11 per barrel. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that US commercial crude oil stocks increased by 3.3 million barrels last week, surpassing market expectations of a 2.2 million barrel increase. The…

Interbank liquidity worsened further, sinking deeper into negative territory, highlighting the ongoing liquidity crunch in the financial system. Hence, money market rates were further pressured as banks faced a huge liquidity deficit totalling N1.58 trillion, up from N1.064 trillion the previous day.

Investors Step up Bonds Buying on Inflation Protected Return Improved confidence and positive real return on investment drove buying momentum in the bond secondary market on Wednesday. Despite huge Treasury bill subscriptions of more than N2.4 trillion, investors also increased their respective positions in the secondary market for Nigerian bonds. The rebased exercise has upturned negative interest yield on fixed income assets in the Nigerian debt market. Based on 24,48% inflation figure and 27.50% benchmark interest rate, asset managers, pension fund administrators, and local banks that invested in bonds are enjoying a positive return of 3.20%. Traders said fixed interest…