The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a circular to Bureau De Change operators (BDCs), informing them of the sale of $10,000 to each BDC at a rate of N1,101/$1.
The circular, titled, ‘Sales of FX to Meet Retail Market Demand For Eligible Invisible Transactions’, dated April 8, was addressed to the president of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON).
The CBN instructed the BDCs to sell the dollars to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price.
If the BDCs adhere to the instruction, they will sell at not more than N1,117/$1, a rate lower than the N1,251.05/$1 recorded at the end of last week, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
“We write to inform you of the sale of $10,000 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to BDCs at the rate of N1101/$1,” the document reads.
“The BDCs are in turn to sell to eligible end users at a spread of not more than 1.5 percent above the purchase price.
“All eligible BDCs are therefore directed to commence payment of the Naira deposit to the underlisted CBN Naira Deposit Account Numbers from Today Monday April 08, 2024, and submit confirmation of payment with other necessary documentation for disbursement at the appropriate CBN Branches,” the circular read.
ABCON had on April 6, advised the CBN to reduce its applicable buying FX rate downward due to the naira’s speedy recovery, pointing out that the N1,251/$ applicable buying rate the CBN pegged for BDC operators would result in losses for its members, as the open market rate stands at N1,235/$.
On march 26, the CBN announced that licensed BDC operators in the country had each received $10,000 from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the rate of N1,251/$1 and directed the BDCs to sell same to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price, implying that the BDCs were not expected to sell above N1,269/$1.
The CBN had a few weeks bank, revoked licenses of over 4,173 BDCs, following which it announced the resumption of the sale of dollars to BDC operators.
The sale was suspended in 2021.
