CBN Prints N177Bn New Naira Notes, Destroys N1.8Trillion Others

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said a sum of N176.9bn was spent to print banknotes between 2015 and 2018.

This came as the apex bank also said that it destroyed unfit Naira currency notes worth N1.89tn in two years, 2017 and 2018.

These were disclosed in the 2018 annual report of the Currency Operations Department of the CBN.

According the CBN, N64bn was spent to print banknotes in 2018, compared with N49.5bn in 2017, indicating an increase of N14.5bn.

The CBN in 2016 spent N33.37bn on printing banknotes as against N30.09bn in 2015.

The Currency Operations Department of the apex bank was confronted with a number of operational challenges, which included the sale of newly minted naira notes; poor handling habits of banknotes by the public; hoarding of the naira and high cost of currency management.

Other constraints were the rising cases of counterfeiting of the higher denomination banknotes; public apathy towards the use of coins; disposal of banknotes waste in an unfriendly manner, and banknotes inter-leafing and other shortages discovered in the deposits of Deposit Money Banks and Bankers Warehouse.

The report disclosed that “a total of 119,663 pieces of counterfeit notes with a nominal value of N98.82m was recorded in 2018.

“This indicated a decline of 1.30 per cent in volume and an increase of 5.77 per cent in value, when compared with 118,126 pieces with a nominal value of N93.43m recorded in 2017.

“The ratio of counterfeit notes to the volume of banknotes in circulation was 18 pieces per million, compared to 16 pieces per million banknotes discovered in 2017.”

The report disclosed that N500 and N1000 denominations remained the most commonly counterfeited banknotes, which accounted for 65.29 per cent and 34.49 per cent, respectively of the total discovered counterfeit notes.

It stated, “The increasing trend of counterfeiting of higher denomination banknotes underscores the need for more concerted efforts in managing the risk.

“The bank will, however, sustain its publicity campaign, collaborative efforts with security agencies and collation of data on counterfeits to mitigate the incidence of counterfeiting.”

The report explained that out of the total order of 3,351.34 million pieces of banknotes, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc delivered 2,653.31 million pieces or 79.17 per cent as of the end of December 2018, leaving a balance of 698.03 million pieces or 20.83 per cent.

“In addition, the company, under a domestication arrangement, delivered 22.89 million pieces of Nigeria’s N100 commemorative centenary banknotes, awarded in 2014 to Crane Currency Sweden. As of December 31, 2018, a total of 992.50 million pieces or 99.3 per cent had been delivered. However, the NSPM had written to inform the bank that the balance of 7,460,000 pieces was part of the waste generated during the printing process involved in the domestication.”

The currency department of the CBN sustained the disposal operations in 2018 to ensure the circulation of clean banknotes.

“In pursuance of this objective, the department deployed 12 banknote destruction systems and four currency disintegrating systems for currency disposal activities during the period under review.

On the destruction of unfit notes, the CBN said “As at the end of December 2018, a total of 1,810.54 million pieces or 181,054 boxes valued at N915,075.17 million was disposed, compared with 2,575.18 million pieces or 257,501 boxes valued at N977,231.78 million destroyed in 2017.

“The boxes of unfit notes disposed in 2018 decreased by 76,447 boxes, while the value decreased by N62,156.62 million or 6.36 per cent compared with 257,501 boxes valued at N977,231.78 million disposed in 2017.”

Mrs Priscilla Eleje, director, Currency Operations Department, said the report showed the activities and initiatives of the department to ensure, among others, withdrawal of unfit banknotes and circulation of clean banknotes in a balanced denominational mix to meet public demand.

To maintain the integrity of the banknotes in circulation, the department, in collaboration with Deposit Money Banks, Bankers Warehouse Plc, and security agencies, continued to intensify its efforts at mitigating the incidences of counterfeiting during the period under review.

A total of 119,663 pieces of counterfeit notes with a nominal value of N98.82m was recorded in 2018.

This indicated a decline of 1.30 per cent in volume terms and an increase of 5.77 per cent in value terms, when compared with 118,126 pieces with a nominal value of N93.43m recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.

It added, “The ratio of counterfeit notes to volume of banknotes in circulation was 18 pieces per million, compared to 16 pieces per million banknotes discovered in 2017.

“The N500 and N1,000 denominations remained the most commonly counterfeited banknotes, which accounted for 65.29 per cent and 34.49 per cent respectively of the total counterfeit notes discovered.”

Currency-in-Circulation grew by 0.8 per cent to N2.32tn at the end of December 2018.

The growth in CIC reflected the high dominance of cash in the economy and increase in economic activities.

A breakdown of the CIC indicated that, in terms of volume and value, the proportion of higher denomination banknotes (N100, N200, N500 and N1,000) in total rose from 41.9 to 44.3 per cent and 96.9 to 97.6 per cent, respectively.

The lower denomination currency notes continued to be preponderant in terms of volume, constituting 55.7 per cent of the total.

In value terms, it constituted 2.4 per cent of the total banknotes.