The Central Bank of Nigeria is expecting at least N2trn (US$4.3bn) of cash to return to banks by 31 January, when the deadline to replace high-value currency notes ends.
According to Governor Emefiele, residents exchanged as much as N1.5trn in old notes last week, and the CBN hopes to “move closer to N2trn this week.” Emefiele added that people who do not exchange these notes by 31 January will have “useless” cash in their hands. That may not happen if the central bank accedes to Nigerian lawmakers’ request, made on Tuesday, for the deadline to be extended to July. Nigeria started issuing redesigned N200, N500 and N1000 notes in mid-December to mop up excess cash liquidity and take control of the money supply.
