Some of the tools for the job in hand

THE PRINCIPAL LOSERS FROM COVID-19, as with other global viruses and all national disasters, are the poorest members of society. They have fewer, if any savings. They generally live on top of one another. Their income is received in cash because their jobs, if any, are not secure. They depend upon the state for education and health so when the government seizes up for whatever reason, they are left without. We could go on. The lucky ones are the “professionals” who can work from home and adapt to the restrictions imposed by their government.

The authorities in Nigeria have sought to respond with monetary and fiscal stimuli. The headline measure on the monetary side was the rate cut of 100 basis points (bps) announced by the monetary policy committee (MPC) last month. The impact of rate changes is limited for well-documented reasons, which explains the consensus view (including our own) ahead of the meeting on 28 May that there would be no change. The cut was the signal/message, whatever its effect, that central banks and MPCs across the world have sent in the face of COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdowns.

On 16 April, the CBN governor outlined a package of regulatory and credit measures that was costed at N3.5trn in aggregate. The largest intervention was a N1trn facility for agriculture and manufacturing, of which N93bn had been disbursed for 44 projects one month later.

Similarly, for the N100bn healthcare intervention, a total of N10bn had been released.

This is not particularly fast or slow. The CBN has tested procedures to follow. There are not the resources available for the quick fix. In the US the government sent a cheque to each household. In several European countries such as Germany, Switzerland and the UK, banks released government-guaranteed loans for small business after credit checks that could