JUST IN: CBN To Clamp Down On Bureau De Change Dealers Over Speculative Trading

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that there are ongoing plans to clamp down on Bureau de Change dealers over unfair speculative activities.

The Acting Governor of the CBN, Folasodun Shonubi, said the activities of the black market dealers have led to the depreciation of the naira.

Sonubi made the disclosure on Monday to State House Correspondents after briefing President Bola Tinubu.

According to the acting CBN boss, the depreciation of the naira is causing worries for the president particularly due to its impact on Nigerians.

He said: “Mr President is very concerned about some of the goings on in the foreign exchange market. One of the things we discussed is what could be done to stabilise and what could be done to improve the liquidity in the market and also the goings on in the various other markets, including the parallel market.

“He’s concerned about its impact on the average person, since, unfortunately a lot of activities that we do, which are purely local, are still referenced to exchange rates in the parallel market.

“We’ve discussed, and I’ve shared with him what we’re doing to improve supply. If you look at the official market, you’ll find that that market has been fairly stable and the spreads of the difference have not fluctuated as much.”

The naira has fallen to N945 per dollar since the CBN floated the currency in June.

The CBN also abolished the different foreign exchange windows and made the Investors’ and Exporters’ FX window the official market for traders.

The BDCs were excluded from the market which the National President of the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe protested.

Gwadabe had said that the naira will keep crashing so long as they are excluded from the official market.

Shonubi said the CBN does not believe that the “changes going on in the parallel market are driven by pure economic demand and supply, but are touched by speculative demand from people.

“Some of the plans and strategies, which I’m not at liberty to share with you, means sooner rather than later, the speculators should be careful because we believe the things we’re doing, when they come to fruition, may result in significant losses to them.

“But my presence here is more about the concerns the President has and his needs to know that we are doing something about it, assurances of which I have given him totally.”

Experts have also warned against the exclusion of BDCs saying the CBN was creating another window.

“So, I hope this helps. We are looking at it and we’re doing things which will significantly impact the market in a few days time and we will all see it,” the Acting CBN boss added.