By Daniel Adaji
The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a circular to Bureau De Change operators informing them of the sale of $10,000 to each BDC at a rate of N1,251/$1.
This was contained in a circular made available to PUNCH Online and signed by the bank’s Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Dr Hassan Mahmud, on Monday.
The apex bank directed each BDC to sell the dollars to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5 per cent above the purchase price, implying that each BDC is not expected to sell above N1,269/$1.
The PUNCH reported that the CBN announced its decision to sell foreign exchange worth $20,000 to each eligible Bureau De Change operator across the country in February.
This is coming more than two years after the former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, stopped the sales of foreign exchange to BDC operators in that segment of the forex market.
The document read, “We refer to our letter to you referenced TED/DIR/CON/GOM/001/071 in respect of the above subject wherein the CB approved a second tranche of sale of FX to eligible BDCs.
“We write to inform you of the sale of $10,000 to each BDC at the rate of N1,251/$1. The BDCs are to sell to eligible end users at a spread of not mora than 1.5 per cent above the purchase price.”
This confirms a resumption of the sale of dollars to BDC operators after a protracted period of ban by the central bank in 2021.