The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has scrapped the cash pooling requirement for international oil companies (IOCs), allowing them full access to their export proceeds.
Cash pooling is a financial arrangement that enables a company or regulator to centralise funds from multiple accounts into a single account for efficient management.
In a circular issued on Wednesday, the apex bank said the new directive replaces earlier guidelines introduced in 2024, which required banks to pool 50 percent of repatriated export proceeds on behalf of IOCs while the remaining balance was held for 90 days before repatriation.
Under the revised policy, oil companies can now access and repatriate 100 percent of their export proceeds.
The circular, signed by Musa Nakorji, director of the trade and exchange department, took immediate effect.
“IOCs are hereby granted unfettered access to their repatriated export proceeds. The IOCs may repatriate 100 percent of their export proceeds through the authorised dealer banks,” the circular stated.
The CBN said the move is part of efforts to further liberalise Nigeria’s foreign exchange market and align with current economic realities.
The regulator also directed authorised dealer banks to properly document such transactions and submit monthly reports to its trade and exchange department.
According to the bank, the directive overrides all previous circulars relating to cash pooling and forms part of broader measures aimed at improving liquidity and efficiency in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.
In February 2024, the CBN had introduced restrictions on the transfer of proceeds from crude oil exports by IOCs to offshore parent company accounts, citing concerns over liquidity in the domestic foreign exchange market.
Two months later, the regulator allowed oil firms to sell 50 percent of their repatriated export proceeds in the Nigerian foreign exchange market
