By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Tuesday that it will no longer sell foreign exchange to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele announced this at the end of the 280th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held at the CBN headquarters in Abuja.
The Governor also said that henceforth the Bank will channel the sale of foreign exchange to banks adding that all banks should create a teller point for sale and disbursement of forex to their customers.
He also said the CBN will no longer process any new applications for BDC licenses.
“We are concerned that BDCs have allowed themselves to be used for graft,” Mr Emefiele said,.
He said international bodies, including some embassies and donor agencies, have been complicit in illegal forex transactions that have hindered the flow of foreign exchange into the country.
He said the organisations have chosen to channel forex through the black market than use the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, called Nafex.
Mr Emefiele said the regulator will “deal ruthlessly” with banks allowing illegal forex dealers to use their platforms and will report the defaulting international organisations to their regulators.
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele
“We will deal with them ruthlessly and we will report the international bodies,” he said.
Accordingly, Mr Emefiele said banks are mandated to “immediately” and transparently sell forex to customers who present the required documents. All banks are to immediately create dedicated tellers for the same purpose.
“This measure is not punitive on anyone, but it is to ensure the CBN is able to carry out its legitimate mandate of serving all Nigerians,” Mr Emefiele said.
Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee of the CBN voted unanimously to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 11.5 percent.
It also retained the Cash Reserve Ratio and Liquidity Ratio at 27.5 per cent and 30 percent respectively.
Mr Emefiele who announced the committee’s on Tuesday also said it retained the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR.
He said although the economy has succeeded in exiting the recession, the recovery was very fragile, given that the Gross Domestic Product was still far below population growth rate.
The committee, he noted, was of the strong view to consolidate on all administrative measures currently being taken to spur output growth.
