Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has lauded the Central Bank of Nigeria for stabilizing the exchange rates by the sustained foreign exchange interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The association affirmed that the 163 per cent increase in dollar sales to the operators, amounting to $3.1 billion in the first half of 2018, helped to sustain exchange rate stability and protected 25,000 jobs in the sub-sector.
ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, who stated this while commenting on the half-year economic report by CBN, admitted that the significant increase in BDC sales, reflected the bank’s policy to increase the supply of foreign exchange to small end-users.
CBN, on May 27, 2018, increased weekly dollar sales to each BDCs by 50 per cent to $60,000 per week from $40,000 per week.
Gwadabe noted that the increase in foreign exchange sales to BDCs and the transparency in the market, facilitated by the live exchange rate platform introduced by ABCON, are also attributable to the success recorded at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window.
He added that the development enabled the apex bank to empower BDCs in achieving sustained exchange rate stability, convergence of exchange rates, which by extension, discouraged rent-seeking and other speculative tendencies in the market.
Adding that the recent efforts of the association to automate operations of BDCs will help to consolidate on these gains, he said: “The ABCON automation drive of BDCs’ operations, designed to enhance their visibility and attractiveness, is already giving them an information technology edge, in the quest to become direct agents of international money transfer operators.”