CBN re-introduces twice-weekly FX sale to BDCs

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday announced that it was reversing to the earlier scrapped twice weekly foreign exchange sales to Bureaux de Change (BDCs) beginning next Monday.

The CBN said it will now raise FX sales to BDCs to $10,000 weekly ($5,000 per bid), but that the new rate will be announced same Monday

The bank said the latest decision to reverse self on FX sales to BDCs was continuation of its determination to sustain liquidity in the foreign exchange market, the

“Licensed BDC operators are therefore required to fund their accounts with the CBN on Mondays and Wednesdays, while they receive their purchases on Tuesdays and Thursdays respectively,” the bank noted in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Isaac Okorafor.

The apex banking regulator also offered $100 million to authorized dealers to service forward requests.

Okorafor who also confirmed the offer further said that BDC operators would “henceforth enjoy twice weekly purchases at the sum of $10,000 each with effect from Monday, April 3, 2017.”

Accordingly, BDC operators are required to fund their accounts with the CBN on Mondays and Wednesdays preceding deliveery day of Tuesdays and Thursdays, Mr. Okorafor further hinted.

By this development, BDC operators would now heave a sigh of relief following sharp appreciation of the Naira against major foreign currencies as a result of which speculators have been counting their losses.

In the past five weeks, the CBN has injected dollars, worth close to $1.5 billion into the foreign exchange market to boost liquidity and help the naira. Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor had said last week that the apex bank would sustain injections to strengthen the naira, ensure a convergence of the official and parallel market FX rates and chase speculators out of the market.

Onyinye Nwachukwu