The rising exchange rate of the dollar against the naira which has caused inflation to hit the roof, coupled with the need to carry out measures
CBN discontinued the sale of foreign exchange to BDCs accusing them of trading FX wholesale that amounts greater than USD 5000, in contravention of their licences, and Nigeria’s FX regulations.
The former CBN governor then said the BDC operators had deviated from the objectives they were set up and had become agents facilitating graft and corruption in the country.
But in a move aimed at meeting retail demand for eligible invisible transactions, CBN announced its decision to sell foreign exchange worth $20,000 to each eligible BDC operator across the country.
CBN noted that the move is aimed at rectifying the persisting distortions in the retail segment of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market and bridge the widening gap in the exchange rate.
It said the allocation would be sold at a rate of N1,301/$, reflecting the lower band rate of executed spot transactions at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market as of the previous trading day, dated February 27, 2024.
This means BDCs will buy at N1,301 and sell at ₦1,314.01.
According to data obtained from the CBN website, there are 5,690 BDC operators nationwide.
About 1,373 BDC operators have been screened to get the allocation.
Over half of all the BDC operators in Nigeria are located in Lagos, highlighting the state’s dominance in the foreign exchange market.
The breakdown include Abuja, 186; Awka, 26; Kano, 376; Lagos, 785.
Aminu Gwadabe, the president of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, ABCON, said the number of licensed BDCs was too much for the CBN to monitor and supervise.
This, he said, had led to the request for approval for operators to consolidate their businesses.
Here are some of the unusual names of approved BDC operators in Nigeria:
CCTV BDC LTD
Chelsea BDC LTD
Couple BDC LTD
Cream BDC LTD
Cruising BDC LTD
Day-by-day BDC LTD
Deadlist BDC LTD
Decorum BDC LTD
Deep Freezer BDC LTD
Divine Focus BDC LTD
Ephesians-three-twenty BDC LTD
Four to five BDC LTD
Fourteen February BDC LTD
Fullmoon BDC LTD
Go-well BDC LTD
Gucci BDC LTD
Happy Ends LTD
His Grace BDC LTD
Home Alone BDC LTD
Honeymoon BDC LTD
Hourglass BDC LTD
In-to-in BDC LTD
JJC BDC LTD
Looking and Seeing BDC LTD
Lovers BDC LTD
Pros and Cons BDC LTD
Rice and Beans BDC LTD
Select and Pay BDC LTD
Set up BDC LTD
SIX Six Six BDC LTD
Slow Down BDC LTD
You and Me BDC LTD
Young Free & Single BDC LTD
Zero to Ten BDC LTD
35. 10-20 Times BDC LTD
