·    As volatility rate declines

By Emeka Anaeto, Business Editor

A close monitor of the trajectories in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market has shown some positive turns in the retail end of the inter-bank market, which may have also accounted for similar development in the parallel market in the first 14 days of this year, ending last weekend.

The key driver of the change is linked to the most recent policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, which allows individuals to apply for forex online, and get their supply. The new policy involves deployment of an electronic Form ‘A’ to expedite applications for Personal/ Basic Travel Allowance (PTA/BTA), medicals, education, and other remittances.

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Vanguard findings reveal that as at last weekend, while exchange rate recorded minor uptick, volatility rate has recorded a decline at 0.13% on a 30-day moving average, down from 0.16% on a 90-day average.

The 30-day average coincides with the period the new Form A policy has run so far. The introduction of the e-Form A is just another of several initiatives of the CBN to ensure the easy accessibility of forex and related services to Nigerian bank customers.

This development was coming against the backdrop of the usually massive uptick in both exchange rate and volatility rate in the retail space especially on PTA/BTA transactions as students based outside the country begin returning to their schools.

So far So Good This Year

The Naira gained average of 1.58 percent or N7.56 against the United States Dollar at the official forex market in the first week of this year.

The local currency closed the first business day of the year at N423.56 to a US Dollar before improving in value to N416 against the greenback the next day where it hovered till end of the week.

The improvement in Naira value was after the market had digested the CBN’s currency adjustment. The apex bank had adjusted the Naira to Dollar exchange rate by N2 from N411 to N413 on the last business day of 2021, Friday December 31, leading to devaluation outcry across Africa’s largest economy, with the local currency plunging to as low as N435 against the United States Dollar at the official forex trading market and N575 at the unregulated parallel market, popularly known as the black market, before moderating to N416.

Last week was also fairly good for the local currency with relative stability in exchange rate.

But most important aspect of the new ‘Form A’ policy was the relative ease in accessing forex by individuals, a development which may have been responsible for the exchange rate stability in the 30-day moving average.

This development, according to traders, may have also reduced pressure on the parallel market channel which in turn moderated rate to about N565/$1.

Though most observers believe that the positive turn in the market is still too early to be conclusive on the effectiveness of the policy but it is also show the determination of the apex bank to sustain the fight against bottlenecks that have bedeviled many public policies in Nigeria, creating windows for corruption and arbitraging, especially in the financial markets.

The Policy

In a circular titled, “Automation of Form ‘A’ on the Trade Monitoring System” and signed by Dr Ozoemena Nnaji, Director Trade and Exchange Department, the CBN states that all hard copies of Forms ‘A’ created on or before November 2, 2021 (before the start of the e-Form ‘A’) must be used within 15 working days of the Form’s creation.

What is Form A?

‘Form A’ is an application form designed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to pay for service transactions (invisible trade).

The form allows customers to purchase forex at the CBN or interbank rate to make payments for eligible services as predetermined by the foreign exchange manual.

The e-Form ‘A’ is meant to replace its hardcopy from November 30, 2021. The Bank also noted that customers would pay a charge of N5,000 as fee per declaration of e-Form ‘A’.

The circular reads: “This is to inform all authorized dealers and the general public of the deployment of e-Form ‘A’.

“Accordingly, the e-Form ‘A’ shall replace the hard copy of Form ‘A’ for invincible transactions [PTA/BTA, medicals, education, other remittances etc.]with effect from November 30, 2021.

“Consequently, all authorized dealers are required to ensure that the processing of Form ’A’ shall only be done electronically on the Trade Monitoring System accessible at www.tradesystem.gov.ng.

“The general public is required to obtain a valid Bank Verification Number (BVN) from their authorized dealer Banks. The BVN is a prerequisite for customers to access the Trade System for e-Form ‘A’ application.

“The e-Form ‘A’ is web-based and allows the general public to initiate the Form from their offices/homes and submit same to the authorized dealer bank.

“A charge of N5,000 (Five Thousand Naira) as fee per declaration of e-Form ‘A’ is applicable with effect from November 30, 2021, and henceforth. There will be a direct debit from the processing bank’s current account for each declaration which should be recovered the charge on the customer by the bank. However, customers for the e-Form ‘A’ should be separated from other bank charges.”

“All hard copies of Forms ‘A’ established on or before November 2 2021 (prior to the commencement of the e-Form ‘A’) shall be utilized within 15 working days of the establishment of the Form.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all established hard copies of Forms ‘A’ for which disbursement had not been made within the transition period of 15 working days shall be deemed cancelled.

“All authority dealer banks are enjoined to inform their customers of the development for compliance.”

Banks responded

Nigerian banks in adherence to the directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have informed their customers that forex requests can be processed online.

The banks can now process forex requests online with CBN automated Forms A & NCX for invisible and non-commercial export transactions, according to emails sent to consumers.

Stanbic IBTC Bank informed its customers in an email, stating, “We wish to bring to your notice that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has deployed the automated Forms A and NCX for invisible and non-commercial export transactions (in addition to commercial export already on the platform) on the Trade Monitoring System (TRMS) platform.”

This, according to the bank, is to take advantage of digital technology to streamline the request process so that applicants can submit requests from the comfort of their own homes, as well as to unify the processes involved in completing these transactions and for global monitoring and reporting purposes.

It added: “It has therefore become imperative for every individual (Current and potential customer for invisible transactions such as tuition fees, upkeep, medical fees, personal travel allowance (PTA), business travel allowance (BTA), subscription, professional exams, and certification fees and other related requests) to immediately sign up on the Trade Monitoring System (TRMS) platform preparatory to cut over to the new system by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”

FSDH Merchant Bank Limited also sent a notice to its customers informing them of the CBN’s initiative to automate the processes of obtaining Forms A and NCX via online means.

The notice read, “Dear valued customer, we wish to bring to your notice that CBN has deployed the automated Forms A & NCX for invisible and non-commercial export transactions (in addition to commercial export already on the platform) on the TRMS platform.

“Hence, it has become imperative for every individual (Current and Potential customers for invisible transactions e.g., for tuition fee, upkeep, medical fee, BTA/PTA, subscription, professional exams/certification fee, etc.) to immediately sign up on the TRMS platform preparatory to cut over to the new system by the CBN.”