The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has discontinued Foreign Exchange (forex) sales to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in Nigeria.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele announced this on Tuesday while presenting a communique from the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.
He said that the decision was informed by the unwholesome business practices of the BDCs, which he said had continued to put enormous pressure on the Naira.
The CBN Governor said the apex bank would now sell forex to deserving Nigerians through the commercial banks and directed the banks to create teller points for sales and disbursements of forex to their customers.
”The BDCs were regulated to sell a maximum of 5000 dollars per day, but CBN observed that they have since been flouting that regulation and selling millions of dollars per day. The CBN also observed that the BDCs aid illicit financial flows and other financial crimes. The bank has thus, decided to discontinue the sale of forex to the BDCs with immediate effect. We shall, henceforth, channel all forex allocation through the commercial banks,” he said.
Emefiele directed the commercial banks to ensure that every deserving customer got their forex demand, adding that any bank found circumventing the new system would be sanctioned. “Once a customer presents all required documentation to purchase forex, the commercial banks should ensure they get the forex.”
The CBN governor said the apex bank receives about 5,000 applications every month for BDC registration but declared it will no longer process any new application for BDC licenses.