The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the sale of foreign exchange (FX) to eligible Bureau de Change (BDC) operators at a rate of N1,450 to a dollar. Each BDC will be sold $20,000 at this rate, which represents the lower band of the trading rate at NAFEM from the previous trading day.
In a statement on Thursday, Aliyu Mahdi, CBN’s Acting Director in Charge of Trade and Exchange Departments, highlighted the ongoing distortions in the retail FX market. These distortions have been feeding into the parallel market and widening the exchange rate premium.
Mahdi stated, “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 widening the exchange rate premium.”
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To address these issues, the CBN has approved FX sales to eligible BDCs to meet the demand for invisible transactions. All BDC operators are permitted to sell FX to eligible end-users at a margin not exceeding 1.5 percent above the purchase rate from CBN.
The CBN has instructed all eligible BDCs to make naira payments to CBN’s naira deposit account numbers and submit confirmation of payment along with other necessary documentation for disbursement at its branches in Abuja, Akwa, Kano, and Lagos.
