The Central Bank of Nigeria planned to sell foreign exchange worth $20,000 to Bureau De Change operator across the country.
This comes three years after the ex- CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced the suspension of foreign exchange sales to BDC operators.
On Tuesday, the Apex bank director, Hassan Mahmud revealed this in a new circular issued and signed by the Trade and exchange Department.
Data obtained from the CBN website, shows there are 5,690 BDC operators nationwide.
Although, about 1,373 BDC operators have been screened to get the allocation. The breakdown include Abuja, 186; Awka, 26; Kano, 376; Lagos, 785.
The CBN stop the sale of foreign exchange to BDCs on 27, July 2021 accusing them of trading FX wholesale that amounts greater than USD 5000, in contravention of their licences, and Nigeria’s FX regulations.
The ex CBN governor claimed the BDC operators had deviated from the objectives they were set up and had become agents facilitating graft and corruption in the country.
The recent circular, approving sale of forex to the BDC operators was titled, “Sale of Foreign Exchange to Bureau de Change Operators to meet retail demand for eligible invisible transactions.”
It stressed that the move point at correcting the preserve distortions in the retail segment of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market and bridge the widening gap in the exchange rate.
On 27 of February 2024, he said the allocation would be sold at a rate of N1,301/$, reflecting the lower band rate of executed spot transactions at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market as of the previous trading day,
This means Bureau De Change will buy at N1,301 and sell at N1,314.01.
The circular read, “Following the ongoing reforms in the foreign exchange market, aimed at achieving an appropriate market-determined exchange rate for the Naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria has observed the continued price distortions at the retail end of the market, which is feeding into the parallel market and further widening the exchange rate premium.
To this end, the CBN has approved the sale of foreign exchange to eligible Bureau De Change to meet the demand for invisible transactions. The sum of $20,000 is to be sold to each BDC at the rate of N1,301/$- (representing the lower band rate of executed spot transactions at NAFEM for the previous trading day, as of today, 27th February 2024).
“All BDCs are allowed to sell to end-users at a margin NOT MORE THAN ONE per cent above the purchase rate from CBN.”
