Nigeria’s Central Bank Concludes Inaugural Retail Dutch Auction System
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has successfully concluded its inaugural Retail Dutch Auction System (rDUS), selling $815.36 million to end-users through 26 banks at a rate of N1495 per dollar. This significant milestone marks a new chapter in the country’s foreign exchange market.
According to the CBN, the apex bank received a total of $1.191 trillion in bids from participating banks, with $815.36 million worth of bids successfully scaling through the process. Unfortunately, $375.7 million worth of bids were disqualified due to late submission.
The cut-off bid rate approved by the Committee of Governors was N1495.00/US$, with the total successful bids amounting to US$815,362.006.30. The range of successful bids varied across the 26 participating banks, with rates ranging from N495.00/US$ to N1650.00/US$.
The CBN also disqualified six banks, including four that submitted bids after the six-hour submission period and two that failed to provide bids in the supplied template.
This development comes as the Naira, Nigeria’s official currency, ended the week on a positive note, gaining N42.88 against the dollar. The successful implementation of the rDUS is expected to improve liquidity and transparency in the foreign exchange market, ultimately benefiting end-users and the broader economy.
With this inaugural rDUS under its belt, the CBN is poised to continue its efforts to deepen the foreign exchange market and promote economic stability in Nigeria.
