Hoarder deposits 20-year-old bales of N200 notes in bank days after CBN reveals plan to redesign naira

A hoarder has reportedly deposited bales of N200 naira notes printed 20 years ago in order to beat the deadline of January 31, 2023, set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to cease the circulation of old naira notes. 

Recall that the CBN, on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, announced plans to redesign, and reissue the N1000, N500, and N200 currency denominations, in an effort to rein in inflation and take control of the money supply in the country.

Since the announcement, hoarders across the nation have been reportedly trooping to the bank to deposit the piles of notes in their custody.

In the latest video, Nigerians spotted bundles of unspent N200 notes, printed in 2003, about 19-years-ago, brought to the bank as the rush to beat CBN deadlines hots up.

In the video, a bank cashier in one of the banks filmed the notes neatly packed according to their serial numbers brought to the bank for deposit.

“You can see that these notes have not been spent", a female voice said in the video as she fiddled through them, revealing the year they were minted.

According to her, the people who brought the cash for the deposit are trying to beat the CBN deadline and avoid being caught unawares.

Analysts believe introducing unspent naira notes into circulation is the reason for the crash of the naira, as there is a glut of the local currency in the market.

As of Monday, Ocotober 31, 2022, in the parallel market, naira is being exchanged for N880 per dollar.

According to Nairametrics’ FX tracker, the naira has lost over 28% of its value between January and October 2022 due to increased demand for the dollar amidst sustained dollar scarcity. The naira started the year at N565 to a dollar.

The exchange rate at the Investors and Exporters window, where FX is traded officially, has also seen some systematic devaluation so far this year, moving from an average of N416/$1 last year to as high as N444/$1 as FX supply continues to dwindle in recent times.

Data tracked by Nairalytics showed that the sum of $362.7 million was traded at the official FX market last week, marking a decline from $425.3 million recorded in the previous week. This was even significantly lower than the average of $500 and $1 billion weekly trades recorded sometime earlier in the year.