CBN disburses $130 million to BDCs in 4 weeks

By Odunewu Segun

With the number of Bureaux de Change (BDCs) officially recognised by the Central Bank of Nigeria growing to 3,239 in the last one year from 1,400, the weekly allocation from the Central Bank of Nigeria has climbed to $130 million in the last four weeks.

National Daily gathered that with the increasing number of BDCs, the weekly allocation of $40,000 to each BDCs have also increased.

Despite this increase, the President of the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe still expects more approvals from the CBN.

On the CBN’s part, it explained that the new approvals were given in order to increase the liquidity in the foreign exchange market as well as deepen it. In addition, the CBN noted that the increased willingness of BDCs to ply their trade by the rules set by it has resulted in more approvals.

As if to buttress that point, Gwadabe said “We have continuously assured the CBN and taken appropriate measures to ensure that purchased funds are disbursed to end users and for eligible transactions only. We also render weekly returns on purchases from the banks to Trade and Exchange Department of the apex bank.”

However, despite the fears of many, the CBN continues to insist that it can and will continue to fund relevant aspects of the forex market to ensure that all Nigerians with legitimate dollar needs are satisfied.

While many detractors of the policy will point to dwindling oil prices, the recent strengthening of the Naira in the parallel market is likely to buoy the CBN into more interventions.