The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recently made an announcement regarding the sale of $10,000 to each licensed Bureau De Change (BDC) operator across the country.
This move marks the second intervention of its kind by the apex bank in the current month.
The CBN has outlined the specifics of this intervention in a circular that was addressed to the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators (ABCON).
According to the circular, BDCs will have the opportunity to purchase dollars at a rate of N1,021 per dollar.
Once the BDCs have acquired the foreign exchange, they are authorized to sell it to eligible end users.
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The maximum spread allowed for this transaction is 1.5 percent above the purchase price, which translates to a maximum selling price of N1,036.15 per dollar.
This measure aims to regulate the pricing of forex and prevent excessive profiteering by BDCs.
On the 8th of April 2024, the CBN sold $10,000 worth of foreign exchange to each of the 1,588 participating BDCs.
The fixed rate for this transaction was N1,101 per US dollar, with a spread capped at 1.5 percent above the purchase price from the CBN.
This means that the maximum selling price for the BDCs was approximately N1,116.15 per dollar. By imposing this limit, the CBN aimed to restrict the potential profit that BDCs could make on each transaction.
