“No More ‘No Gree for Anybody’: CBN Drops N100 Million Hammer on Banks Caught Slipping on Forex Rules”

If you’re a bank in Nigeria thinking of cutting corners on foreign exchange deals, you might want to think twice or be ready to pay a heavy price.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) just released a new, updated Forex Manual (the first major one since 2017), and it comes with some serious teeth. In plain terms, they are tired of the shady dealings and lack of proper paperwork in the FX market.

So, what’s the damage?

If a bank processes a foreign exchange transaction without the right documents, they’ll have to pay a cool N100 million fine. And as if that’s not enough, they’ll also pay an extra N10 million for every single faulty transaction. That’s not pocket change, even for a bank.

But that’s not all. The CBN is also cracking down on banks that play with fire regarding their Net Open Position limits:

· First offence? Just a warning.

· Second offence? You’re out of the FX market for 10 working days.

· Third offence? See you in 90 days.

They are also getting strict with paperwork deadlines. Banks must now submit daily FX reports by 10:00 AM sharp. Late submission? That’s a N500,000 fine. Fail to submit at all? That’s a N5 million fine, plus N500,000 for every day you keep dragging your feet.

Importers and exporters aren't left out either.

If you’re an importer and you fail to submit your documents within 90 days, you’ll be banned from the FX market. First time, it’s a 90-day ban; mess up four times, and you’re permanently out.

For exporters who fail to bring their proceeds back into the country within the required time (180 days for non oil, 90 days for oil & gas), you’ll pay a penalty of 1% of the outstanding amount. And the bank that allowed that to happen? They’ll pay 0.5%.

On a brighter note, the CBN also eased a few things to help legitimate businesses. You can now pay up to 30% in advance for imports (up from 15%), and they’ve removed some annoying processing fees for export forms.

The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, says this is all about bringing sanity, transparency, and confidence back into the system. In short, they want everyone to play by the rules or pay the price.

Bottom line: The days of “anything goes” in Nigeria’s forex market are officially over.