Nigeria interbank rate unchanged for second week

CBN Governor, Emefiele

Nigerian interbank lending rates were unchanged for the second straight week on Friday at an average of 10.25 percent, supported by excess naira liquidity in the banking system dealers said.
The cash balance held by banks at the central bank rose to a credit of 454 billion naira ($2.79 billion) at Friday's open, compared with 433.2 billion naira week ago, dealers said.
The central bank paid off around 135 billion naira worth of Open Market Operations (OMO) treasury bills which had matured on Thursday, boosting liquidity.
Lending rates among banks have reached a floor, dealers said, noting that they do not expect rates to fall further even with the liquidity boost, owing to a cap on central bank's benchmark deposit rate.
The open buy-back (OBB) was unchanged at 10.25 percent, 1.75 percentage points below the central bank's benchmark interest rate of 12 percent.
Overnight placement was flat at 10.25 percent, same level last week.