Full List: CBN Excludes BDCs In South South From $20,000 Weekly Intervention

…Over 57% Of BDCs Selected For $20,000 CBN Weekly Intervention Located In Lagos

The Central Bank of Nigeria shortlisted 1,368 Bureau de Change operators which it said qualified for the $20,000 intervention but more than 57 per cent of the operators are based in Lagos.

Analysis of the document which was exclusively obtained by THE WHISTLER, reveals that 785 of the operators are from Lagos.

Kano State has 371 BDCs enlisted for the intervention which is 27.1 per cent of the approved beneficiaries while 186 which is 13.59 per cent are based in Abuja.

The document shows that 26 BDCs in Awka were selected for the intervention. This represents 1.9 per cent of the total BDCs selected.

No BDC operator in the South-South qualified for the weekly intervention according to the document.

THE WHISTLER had reported that the $20,000 intervention would be given to operators that have a valid licence and are up to date with their annual fillings.

There are strict conditions attached to the $20,000 weekly intervention which include the prohibition of re-selling dollars to customers above one per cent of the price allocated by CBN.

Another rule is that BDCs are not allowed to sell more than $4,000 per individual for PTA and $5,000 for BTA and they are mandated to display their buying and selling rate at their outlet.

During the Monetary Policy Meeting on Tuesday, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso said that BDCs are no longer serving the market they were meant to protect.

The CBN boss said the over 5,000 BDCs in the country have different interests which they pursue, adding that they exploit the different foreign exchange market windows for arbitrage.

“We are hoping that by the time this exercise is finished and the guidelines are up, only genuine BDCs would be licensed,” Cardoso said.

The Central Bank boss argued that the bank is only interested in genuine operators who are ready to serve the interests of Nigerians.

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