CBN drops interest rate to 13.5% for first time in two years

Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dropped the monetary policy rate (MPR) for the first time in more than two years.

The MPC dropped the interest rate by 50 basis points to 13.50 per cent from 14 per cent.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, made the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday at the end of a two-day MPC meeting in Abuja.

The MPC had not changed the interest rate since July 2016.

Mr Emefiele said the cut in the rates was necessary at this time to support the nation’s feeble economic growth and tackle unemployment rate.

The MPC kept other key parameters unchanged like the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) at 22.5 per cent, and the liquidity ratio at 30 per cent.