CBN May Raise CRR On Private Deposits

There are indications that
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may raise the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) on public sector deposits according to the resolution at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
Fist Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Capital, an investment and research firm has said the (CRR) is a portion of the bank’s deposits under the auspices of CBN.
The firm said the CRR which currently stands at 15 per cent, may be raised further.
the CBN raised CRR on public sector deposits from 12 per cent to 50 per cent in July last year. By march this year, the ratio was further hiked to 75 per cent.
CRR on private sector deposits equally rose by 300 basis points from 12 per cent to 15 per cent during the MPC meeting held in March 2014.
To many, banks, especially those with weak deposit base, it was bad business.
These policy adjustment dropped over N1.5 trillion from bank’s vaults and placed it in CBN’s custody thereby worsening existing cash crunch faced by lenders.
Hence, when banks started releasing their fiscal year 2013 results many pundits were interested in knowing the impacts/changes in CRR reduction on commission on turn over (COT) fees, removal of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) charges  and increase in contribution to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Levy had on lenders profitability.
Vetiva Capital Management analyst predicted that in an aggregate level, the banking industry this year’s gross earning would take a potential $690 million annual hit assuring a 12 per cent yield on the newly sterilised CRR deposits.
They said the impact will vary from bank to bank depending on how much public sector deposits was in their books.