Central Bank of Nigeria calls Friday meeting with banks on Foreign exchange rules - banking sources

The Central Bank of Nigeria has called a meeting with chief executives and treasurers of commercial lenders on Friday to discuss issues surrounding its policy on the foreign exchange market.

The apex bank imposed tight controls on the foreign exchange market in February to curb speculation on the naira and save its dwindling foreign reserves in Africa's biggest economy.

Before setting the restrictions, the central bank had been battling to prop up the naira after a sharp fall in the price of oil, Nigeria's main export, which triggered a sell-off in assets by foreign investors.

Traders were upbeat on the outcome of the meeting which they claimed was long overdue to ease the tight control in the market and allow the local currency to find its real value.

JPMorgan has threatened to eject Nigeria from its Government Bond Index (GBI-EM) by the year-end unless it restores liquidity to currency markets in a way that allows foreign investors tracking the benchmark to transact with minimal hurdles.

Nigeria's central bank set its exchange rate peg at 198 to the dollar in February but has changed it to 196.90 naira against the dollar last week, with dealers saying the tweaking was not a reflection of the market.