•Unveils Long-Dated FX Futures
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold an estimated $34.83bn Naira-settled OTC FX Futures contracts on FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, 18 months after launching the product on June 27, 2016, to the relief of Nigerian corporate.
The product has served to minimize the disequilibrium in the Spot FX market and caused the exchange rate to moderate; attracting significant capital flows to the Nigerian fixed income and equity markets; and achieving exchange rate stability, according to a statement by FMDQ Holdings Plc.
The product, which is administered via the bespoke FMDQ FX Futures Trading & Reporting System, the statement noted, since its introduction almost four years ago, has recorded zero settlement default.
This is notwithstanding the FX Futures contracts over the last 43 maturities, totaling about $25.53bn, successfully cleared and settled by FMDQ’s wholly-owned clearing house, FMDQ Clear Limited.
Further to its efforts to develop the nation’s foreign exchange (FX) market and indeed, its financial markets, the CBN, in collaboration with FMDQ Holdings PLC, at the weekend, introduced the much-awaited long-dated FX Futures, extending the maximum contract tenor to five years.
This means that 47 new monthly OTC FX Futures contracts, in addition to the existing
13 contracts have been introduced from February 13, 2020, bringing the total number of open OTC FX Futures contracts at any point to 60.
The statement explained that in the global financial system, hedging products are market enablers, allowing businesses and investors around the world to invest freely across borders. It also helps effective hedging of risks, while invariably contributing to economic growth.
“With the FX Futures contracts, the effective rate at which a counterparty will purchase (or sell) FX at any given time in the future is predetermined and fixed; essentially obligating the parties to the transaction which is consummated on FMDQ Exchange, to purchase or sell a currency (in this case, US Dollar) on a predetermined future date (the settlement date) for a fixed rate agreed on the date a contract is entered (trade date).” Also, there is no obligation for the physical delivery of the currency and at maturity, even as clearing and net settlements effected by FMDQ Clear, is made in Naira based on the US Dollar notional amount, and determined by the difference between the agreed rate (on trade date) and the rate on maturity (on settlement date) as determined by FMDQ’s FX reference rate – the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Fixing – NAFEX.
Under the erstwhile OTC FX Futures market structure, the CBN offered 13 monthly contracts allowing market participants hedge FX exposures for up to a 1-year period. Whilst this was a welcome development, a gap was identified where investors seeking to hedge FX risk longer than one year were unable to achieve a perfect hedge using the FX Futures product due to the maturity mismatch.
The resultant risk of unwanted variability in the product deterred investors from using OTC FX Futures market for long-term capital hedging as this was considered unsuitable for long-term investment and capital budgeting purposes, leaving the Nigerian financial markets struggling to attract much-needed FPIs/FDIs and long-term foreign currency (FCY) denominated borrowings for sustainable development and economic growth.
“The impact of the extension of the hedge curve by the CBN to up to 60 months can therefore not be over-emphasized, as this will greatly reduce potential FX exposures, encourage long-term planning and increase investments in the Nigerian financial markets,” the statement added.
Commenting, Bola Onadele Koko, Chief Executive of FMDQ Group, expressed excitement “that the CBN has yet again introduced this revolutionary initiative which will minimise the funding liquidity risk of CBN’s FX Management Blotter and significantly attract capital, incentivize domestic corporates to avail on low-interest-rate FCY loans, as well as encourage FPIs/FDIs seeking to make medium-to-long-term investments in our economy.”
The product innovation, he stressed, “will continue to provide opportunities for the government, businesses, fund managers investors, individuals etc. to hedge to manage exchange rate risk, thus achieving greater market confidence, liquidity, improvement in business planning, better allocation of resources, global competitiveness of the Nigerian financial markets, and in all, a thriving economy.”
With derivative products continuing to prove very useful for investors and the financial market in general, FMDQ Group, through its Exchange subsidiary, said it is set to introduce new derivatives products into the Nigerian financial markets. This follows the activation of its Derivatives Market Development Project and subsequent stakeholder engagements cutting across various market participants including banks, fund managers, regulators, media, etc.
In the process, FMDQ Clear is positioned to serve as a central counterparty (CCP) in the near-term and shall continue to provide effective risk management services for derivatives products, ensuring trades are cleared and settled in a timely, secure and efficient manner.