Sanusi, who stated this, yesterday, during a press briefing at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, said the bank was eagerly awaiting the report by the Senate committee handling the probe as well as from the Ministry of Finance.
He said: “We will deal with any bank that is found culpable in the on-going probe of the pension scam. I have been talking with the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the issue, and we will wait for the report from the ministry. I assure that we will punish any bank involved in the pension fraud.”
MPC retains MPR at 12%
Speaking on decisions by the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Sanusi revealed that the MPC has decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 12 per cent and CRR at 8.0 per cent.
The committee, he noted, will also retain the Minimum Liquidity Ratio of 30 per cent, adding that it will watch developments with respect to the fiscal stance and to respond appropriately if and when the need arises.
Moderation in govt borrowing
Meanwhile, Sanusi has called for tightening of fiscal policies and moderation in borrowing by government.
He said the committee was concerned about the rising level of domestic debt and its sustainability, as shown by the average debt service to revenue ratio of 17.6 per cent in the last three years, adding that this would likely have a negative impact on domestic interest rates and the flow of credit to the core private sector, among others.
According to Sanusi, “although debt to GDP ratio in 2011 stood at 17.8 per cent, the committee noted that the percentage of debt service to government revenue was high at 19.1 per cent in the same year. In view of the high interest rate environment occasioned by tight monetary policy stance, a moderation in government borrowing would be positive not just for the fiscal position but for access to finance by private sector.”
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