Nigerian interbank rates ease on expectation of budget disbursal

Nigerian interbank lending rate eased to an average of 15.25 percent on Friday, from 42.5 percent last week, after some lenders rediscounted their treasury bills to access some cash and dealers anticipated a budget disbursal.
The overnight lending rate had climbed to 80 percent on Tuesday, as banks scrambled for naira cash to pay for their foreign exchange purchases and meet other obligations.
"Many banks rediscounted their treasury bills holdings to get some cash support ... and this helped to eased the pressure on the market," one dealer said.
The central bank last month hiked the CRR on private sector deposits with commercial lenders to 20 percent, from 15 percent, to support the local currency. It also raised interest rates by 100 basis points to 13 percent.
Dealers said cash from monthly disbursal of budgetary allocations to government agencies is expected to hit the banking system by close of Friday, which should further increase available cash.
The balance that lenders hold with the central bank closed at a surplus of 93 billion naira ($504.07 million), compared with debit of over 100 billion naira last week.
The secured Open Buy back (OBB) traded at 15 percent compared with 40 percent last week, while overnight lending closed at 15.5 percent, against 45 percent last week.
Traders said cost of borrowing among banks is expected to remain stable next week as many companies tiding up their books for the year end.