ABUJA, JUNE 5, 2018 – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday reviewed upwards the trading margin for Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to N357/$1 (buying) and sell at N360/$1 (selling).
This gives BDCs N3 margin per dollar sold. The BDCs previously bought from the apex bank at N360/$1 and sold at N362/$1 before the review.
Speaking on the development, CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor, said the decision will give BDCs a level playing field to compete with other authorised foreign exchange dealers.
He urged BDCs to abide by the new guidelines and not seek to exploit eager customers by selling above the N360 band. He warned that erring BDCs will be sanctioned in any case of infraction established against them.
Also speaking, President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) Aminu Gwadabe, praised the CBN for the move. He said the review will help promote exchange rate stability. The ABCON boss also said the group will sanction any BDC operator that sells dollar above the CBN-approved band.
It will be recalled that the CBN, in March 2017, had released a forex policy, under which it directed licensed BDCs in the country to purchase forex from it at the rate of N360 to a dollar, while selling same to customers at no more than N362/$1.
At the time of the directive in 2017, the aim of the bank was to achieve convergence between the rates in the inter-bank window and that of the BDCs. Meanwhile, the CBN in its first sale of the month yesterday offered the sum of $100 million to dealers in the wholesale segment of the market to meet the requests of customers.
