October 19, (THEWILL) – In a move to abolish segmentation within the foreign exchange (FX) market and bring about greater consistency in terminology, the FMDQ Exchange has announced the change of Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) Window” to Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM)
THEWILL recalls that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had, in a recent market notice, announced a significant change in the terminology used within the Nigerian FX market.
All references to the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) FX Window will now be replaced with the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
This change comes in alignment with the CBN’s press release titled “Operational Changes to the Foreign Exchange Market” issued on June 14, 2023.
Additionally, the change aims to align the nomenclature of the formal FX markets with the provisions of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, which specifically references the Nigerian FX Market as the Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market.
Analysts believe that the transition from the I&E FX Window to NAFEM points to a significant shift in the Nigerian FX landscape. They also noted that it will have a notable impact on how stakeholders in the FX market perceive and interact with this crucial segment of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
Market participants, investors, exporters, and financial institutions will need to adapt to this new nomenclature as it becomes the standard terminology for referring to the FX market.
The move by the CBN to eliminate segmentation in the FX market is a significant policy shift.
By unifying the terminology used to describe the FX market, the regulator aims to create a more transparent and consistent environment for market participants.
The I&E window was created by CBN on April 21, 2017 as official platform for FX trading.
About the Author
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
