Money

As Naira Continues to Fall, Nigerian Banks Pocket Over N224bn From Forex Trading in 9 Months, Access Leads

Wednesday, March 02, 2022 at 10:05 PM by Dave Ibemere

As Nigerians continue to groan about the constant devaluation of Naira, Nigerian banks have a lot to cheer about
Analysis of 11 banks financials shows a massive income of over N224bn from foreign exchange dealings
Nigerian currency in the last have dropped in value to the US dollar consecutively with the most recent in December 2021 as Naira close 2021 at N435/$1

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As Naira wobbles and continues to fall against the US dollars, Nigerian leading banks have recorded a huge increase in forex incomE.

Legit.ng analysis of the financial statements of 11 banks posted on the Nigerian Exchange revealed that the banks raked in over N224.58 billion from January to September of 2021.

Four banks dominate the leaders' table as they recorded over N10 billion forex income within the period. The banks are Access Bank, GTBank, UBA and Eco Bank.

How much was earned forex

Access Bank leads the table with a huge N86.8 billion only from forex trading in the first nine months of 2021. This is a massive leap when compared to N63.98 billion in the same period of 2020.

ECOBANK followed behind as it made N75.4 billion trading forex in the first nine months of 2021 while United Bank for Africa(UBA) came third with forex earning of N27.3 billion.

GT holding the parent company of GT bank also made N14.88 billion from forex in the nine months period under review.

The other banks and their earnings

First Bank- N5.90 billion
Sterling Bank - N4.75 billion
Union Bank- N3.43 billion
FCMB- N2.74 billion
Zenith Bank - N1.83 billion
Fidelity Bank - N1.16 billion
Wema Bank- N207.13 million

Naira devaluation

As the banks rake in billions, Naira continues to struggle to survive at both the official and unofficial markets.

Data from FMDQ securities the official exchange market shows that as at Thursday, 13 January 2021, Naira exchanged to the dollar at N416. While at the interbank market, Naira exchange at N414.79/$1.

Black market rate is worst as Naira currently trades above N570/1.

This rate could get worst in 2022 according to the International Monetary Fund that predicts the raft of economic policies in the US would further add headache to third world nations with huge foreign debt as Nigeria.

IMF advises Nigeria's CBN to further devalue the Naira to cushion the effect on the changes in US economy, the Cable reports.

CBN urges Nigerians to trust eNaira

In a related story, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged all Nigerians to use the eNaria, claiming it is more secure than cryptocurrencies.