Cardoso reassures investors of macroeconomic stability, confidence

• Published On: 21 April 2025 at 20:07

Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has reassured international investors that ongoing reforms are gradually restoring macroeconomic stability and increasing economic confidence.

Cardoso made the announcement at a symposium in New York hosted by the central bank in partnership with J.P. Morgan, the Nigerian Exchange Group, and the Africa Private Capital Association.

The top bank said in a statement on its X account on Sunday that the event, which took place on Thursday ahead of the IMF and World Bank Group's 2025 spring meetings, brought together global investors, diaspora leaders, and major financial stakeholders.

The meeting centred on reviewing Nigeria's macroeconomic prospects and the status of its current reforms.

Cardoso highlighted a reform strategy centred on monetary tightening, increasing transparency in the foreign exchange market, and boosting financial governance in his keynote talk on the theme 'The Nigeria Investment strategy: Pathways for Growth & Global Partnerships'.

He noted that these steps establish the groundwork for long-term macroeconomic stability while also ushering in a new era of transparency and confidence.

The governor reiterated the CBN's "unwavering" commitment to restoring confidence through traditional monetary policy, openness, and consistency.

"We inherited a crisis of confidence but took a different course. "We're not going back," Cardoso stated.

"With a market-determined exchange rate and a transparent, rules-based policy framework, confidence is gradually being restored in Nigeria's economy."

Over the last 18 months, the CBN has enacted changes aimed at reducing consistently high pricing and enhancing transparency in the foreign exchange market.

The central bank raised key benchmark interest rates by 875 basis points to 27.5% to combat inflation and injected hundreds of millions of dollars to stabilise the naira.

To increase transparency and restore confidence, the Cardoso-led CBN implemented the FX Code and Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching Systems.

This resulted in relative stability for the naira until the upheaval produced by President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs in the global market.