Nigeria’s central bank has revised the rules governing access to its Discount Window and participation in Open Market Operations (OMO), with the changes taking effect immediately.
The decision was set out in a circular signed on Wednesday by Okey Umeano, acting director of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Financial Markets Department. The bank said institutions that use the Discount Window will continue to be barred from taking part in OMO auctions on the same day.
At the same time, the CBN removed restrictions linking Discount Window access to foreign-exchange transactions conducted through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) and to primary auctions for government securities. It also ended the suspension of tenored Repurchase (Repo) transactions.
The review followed an assessment of current practices and developments across the foreign-exchange, money and fixed-income markets. The CBN said it had also reassessed the rules for accessing the Standing Lending Facility (SLF), conducting tenored Repo operations and participating in OMO.
