Takeaways:
- 1 $ is exchanged for N1,130 at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) on Tuesday, April 16, 2024
- Customers can convert up to $50,000 per day
USD/NGN exchange on GTB FX sales was $/N1,130 on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, as the Naira continued to rebound both at the parallel market and on NFEM. The bank uses the prevailing exchange rate on the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM).
This means dom account holders can sell their foreign earnings to the bank while Form A applicants can only buy USD from GTB.
Although the parallel market isn’t recognised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the operators have remained major players in the FX market since the days of the military government in Nigeria.
GTB vs other banks
Since the radical FX policy by the new government, GTbank has been using the prevailing market exchange rate.
- GTB rate: N1,130/$
- Access Bank: N950/$
- First Bank: N1,095/$
- Fidelity bank: N900/$
- Unity Bank: N1,135/$
A few days after Nigeria’s apex bank collapsed segments of the official FX market into NFEM, GTBank became the first bank to make it possible for its customers to convert their foreign earnings into Nigerian currency.
NFEM window, formerly known as the Importer’s and Exporter’s window, is where the “willing buyer and willing seller” agreed on a price for forex trading.
While encomium continues to pour in for GTB for its $/NGN rate, the founder of Nairaland, a popular forum across Africa, Seun Osewa slammed Zenith Bank for what he described as “abnormal profits”.
“Zenith Bank is offering only N730/$. Still looking for abnormal profits,” he tweeted.
What does this mean?
This $/NGN trade between GTB and its customers will make it easier for remote workers who want to convert their foreign earnings into naira
It means there is no need to withdraw dollars at the canter and struggle to look for buyers on the street as it was during the tortuous days of Godwin Emefiele-led CBN
If other banks join to favourably compete with GTBank Exchange Rate, parallel market operators may experience low patronage.
