CBN approves daily sales of $10,000 to 1,588 BDC operators

Maureen Aguta

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved daily sales of $10,000 to 1,588 eligible Bureau De Change operators at the rate of N1, 101 to the dollar.

The Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, W.J Kanya said this in a letter addressed to the President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators (ABCON) on Monday in Abuja.

According to the letter, the BDC operators are expected to sell the dollars to eligible end users at a spread of not more than 1.5 per cent above the purchase price.

It directed all eligible BDCs to effect payment of the Naira deposit at CBN Naira deposit account from Monday.

“All BDCs are strongly advised to continue to abide by the rules and conditions as stipulated in our earlier circulars,’’ it said.

ABCON President, Aminu Gwadabe had over the weekend, appealed to the apex bank to lower its applicable exchange rate below the N1, 251 to the dollar it had pegged for BDCs.

Gwadabe complained that N1, 251 to the dollar had become too expensive for the BDCs.

His complaint came on the heels of development in the foreign exchange market where the parallel market rate of N1, 235 to the dollar became lower than the official rate of N1, 252 to the dollar.

He said that the BDCs were recording losses.