Nigerian Banks Banned From Currency Trading Face Fines, CSL Says

• Banks may lose income from trading, CSL Stockbrokers says
• Diamond Bank shares fall most on Nigeria’s benchmark index

Nigerian banks barred from the interbank foreign-exchange market may be fined and face the loss of customers and trading income, analysts at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers Ltd. said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria suspended nine lenders for not transferring around $2.3 billion of deposits for two state oil and gas companies, Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. and Nigeria LNG Ltd., to a government account at the regulator, Lagos-based ThisDay newspaper reported Tuesday. The banks include First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., the nation’s largest lender by assets, United Bank for Africa Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and FCMB Group Plc, the newspaper said.

“The CBN may impose various fines,” analysts at CSL said in a e-mailed note. “Of greater concern to us is the ability of these banks to remit these funds given the illiquidity in the market. Inability to remit these funds will mean staying away from all forex transactions for an extended period.”

 

Nigeria’s banks have suffered a shortage of hard currency for the last two years as oil prices crashed and investors fled when Africa’s most populous country imposed capital controls to try and protect the naira. Oil accounts for around 90 percent of exports and the bulk of government revenue. The naira has weakened 42 percent against the dollar since it was devalued on June 20.

– Bloomberg