• …why we released CBN’s financial statements
• MPC retains lending rate at 27.5%

The Nigerian economy is now stable, attracting renewed interest and commitment from investors who desire a stable atmosphere for investment, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, said yesterday in Abuja.

Speaking with journalists at the end of the 300th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the bank, Cardoso, who also gave reasons for the release of the apex bank’s financial statements after several years, said there was a renewed upbeat in investor confidence.

Speaking on investors’ renewed confidence in the economy, the CBN governor noted that investors were discerning in taking decisions and that no investor put his money where no return is guaranteed.

“This is a journey. Investors don’t go out to invest to lose money.

They go out to invest because there’s stability in an economy and they can plan. With stability comes confidence.

With investment. And with investment comes growth and output. I think that’s definitely the trajectory that you will find in all countries of the world.

Obviously, we have been through a long period of instability.

And I think that clearly what is being recognized is that the Nigerian economy is now stable and there’s interest in those who want to invest to now invest,” he said.

On headline inflation, which is still sticky, he said a combination of efforts had seen it moderating.

“Clearly, the inflation numbers, they speak for themselves.

And we’ve discussed that here, mentioned that here, they speak for themselves.The overall trajectory is in the right direction.

Not one particular aspect of managing the economy is a bullet that will solve all the problems. It isn’t. It’s a multiplicity of different endeavors.

And that is why the combination of the efforts that have been made are yielding results in terms of stability.

And don’t forget, the central bank is the custodian of stability in an economy.

“If you look at the exchange rate, for example, volatility has reduced from over four per cent a year ago to less than half of one per cent. That’s an indication of stability.

And with the increasing collaboration between the fiscal and the monetary side, definitely the journey that we are going through will begin to yield greater results as time goes on I have no doubt about that,” Cardoso affirmed.

He explained that the recent release of CBN’s annual financial statement, the first time after years of its pause signalled transparency and accountability in the administration of the bank.

“I think the first thing I will say is, perhaps, talk about what the major take should not be, because sometimes there’s a tendency for people to misunderstand certain things.

The central bank is not a commercial bank, and for that reason, I wouldn’t want those who are looking at our financials to compare the indices of the bank with the indices of other banks.