CBN to hold MPC meeting May 20

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to hold its 295th monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting next week.

In a statement on Tuesday, the apex bank said the meeting will be held on May 20 and May 21.

The CBN had held its last MPC meeting on March 25 and March 26.

The MPC meeting, led by Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, is the highest policy-making committee of the bank, set up to review economic and financial conditions and determine the appropriate policy in the short to medium term.

In preparation for its 295th meeting, the committee is expected to review the last decisions on monetary policy tightening to curb inflation.

At the last meeting, the committee raised the monetary policy rate (MPR), which benchmarks interest rates, from 22.75 percent to 24.75 percent.

MPC retained the asymmetric corridor at +100 basis points and -300 basis points around the MPR.

The MPR is the baseline interest rate in an economy, every other interest rate used within the economy is built on it.

The rate hike was the second monetary policy decision made by the committee since Cardoso assumed office on September 26, 2023.

Also, the CBN governor said the committee raised the cash reserve ratio (CRR) to 45 percent and the liquidity rate to 30 percent.