CBN to sell $20,000 to each BDC at N1,450/$

CBN to sell $20,000 to each BDC at N1,450/$

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will offer foreign exchange (FX) to eligible Bureau de Change (BDC) operators at N1,450 to a United States dollar.

The apex bank said the sum of $20,000 would be sold to each BDC at that rate (N1,450/$), which is the lower band of the trading rate at NAFEM in the previous trading day.

This is contained in a statement on Thursday by the CBN’s Acting Director in Charge of Trade and Exchange Departments, Aliyu Mahdi.

It said the apex bank had observed the continued distortions in the retail end of the market, feeding into the parallel market and further widening the exchange rate premium.

“Following the ongoing reforms in the foreign exchange market, to achieve an appropriate market determined exchange rate for the Naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has observed the continued distortions in the retail end of the market, which is feeding into the Parallel market and further widen the exchange rate premium,” the statement partly read.

“To this end, the CBN has approved the sales of FX to eligible Bureau De Change (BDCs) to meet the demand for invisible transactions.”

According to the apex bank, all BDC operators are allowed to sell to eligible end-users at a margin not more than 1.5 per cent above the purchase rate from CBN.

The financial regulator instructed all eligible BDCs to make naira payments to CBN’s naira deposit account numbers and submit confirmation of payment with other necessary documentation for disbursement at its branches in Abuja, Akwa, Kano and Lagos.