Don’t Blame CBN, Hold Nigerians Responsible For Forex Scarcity, Says Tunde Lemo

The Chairman of Titan Trust Bank, Mr Tunde Lemo, has stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should not be blamed for the insufficiency of forex in the country.

He noted that though the CBN has to tinker with the forex policy to pay the federal government’s debt, he insisted that Nigerians should be held responsible.

He argued that “because what determines the exchange rate of your currency is what you can offer to the world; so, if the demand for Nigeria product is very low compared to what we intend to import, definitely your currency will continue to take a plunge no matter what the CBN does.”

Lemo, who stated this yesterday in Lagos during the first reunion party for ex-colleagues of Wema Bank, explained that he supports the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that there is a need to have a more market-friendly system of foreign exchange management.

“If CBN can do a bit of that, then we will see liquidity coming into the forex arena, but then Nigerians should be blamed for the depreciation of the naira because Nigerians have a high taste for ostentatious commodities imported from overseas,” he added.

Lemo commended the federal government for the role it played in helping the economy to exit recession within 15 months, adding that the banking industry has continued to add value to businesses because of its resilience spirit.

He hinted that the banking industry has been able to revitalise the economy notwithstanding the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 and as well the challenges of COVID-19 witnessed in 2020.

He further explained that the economy did not take a plunge during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that it was as if the banking industry foresaw the coming of the pandemic.

“Every bank today has migrated all its products to the digital platform and so whether COVID-19 pandemic is restricting you or not, banking business through the digital platform remains unaffected, and this was why we were to improve our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter and stood at 3.9,” he said.

According to him, “the GDP will continue to grow even though last quarter GDP performance was as a result of the lower base effect. The GDP will moderate in the first quarter and it will move up later especially this year which is before the election year. During an election year, we tend to see more inflation which will increase the GDP, there will be a lot of economic activities and it will be inflationary, so that is what I see on the horizon.

Meanwhile, speaking on the recent acquisition of Union Bank by Titan Bank, he said: “The co-shareholders of Titan Trust Bank saw a unique opportunity in Union Bank; the bank has a legacy issue as a plus; the bank value is so much. The bank is a 104-year-old bank. The Union Bank’s presence is significant in the business environment. Titan Trust Bank has been looking at it, despite their age, they are the number one trade bank today. When you talk about trade financing, Titan Trust is number one and they saw an opportunity in Union Bank that can leverage our technology. Titan Trust is a bank that leverages fintech in deploying its services, which is why you don’t see our footprints all over the country and we thought by combining all that strength with the contemporary strength with the brand value of Union Bank we can make an impression in Nigeria by rapidly deploying modern banking to every nook and cranny. So, it is going to be a major synergy.”