LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Bureau De Change operators in Nigeria have not yet adhered to the new operational guidelines released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) three weeks ago.
The President Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, explained to journalists that the lack of compliance is due to the ambiguity and lack of clarity on the guidelines issued by the CBN.
Gwadebe mentioned that requests for clarification sent to the CBN have not been answered.
He said: “We don’t have clarity. For the existing BDCs, what we expect the CBN to do is tell them to come and recapitalise but what is happening is that they should go and re-apply.
“What we would like to know is if the existing licences were withdrawn or revoked. If you are telling me to reapply, is it the same as asking me to recapitalise and this reapplying involves me going to the CAC, getting a name, etc.? It feels like an entirely new process, which for us is against any recapitalisation plan. The entire thing is like a new process so we need to know.”
The new CBN guidelines, issued in May and effective from June 3, direct all existing BDCs to re-apply for a new license according to their chosen categories (Tier 1 and Tier 2 BDCs) and meet the minimum capital requirements of the licence category applied for within six months.
According to the guidelines, Tier 1 BDCs are required to have a capital base of N2bn, while Tier 2 BDCs need N500m, with non-refundable license fees of N5m and N2m, respectively.
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Gwadebe also pointed out that the CBN has suspended supply to BDCs since March and is moving towards a complete liberalization of the foreign currency market, eliminating the need for CBN intervention.
He said, “The BDC window has been suspended by the Central Bank of Nigeria since around March or so. The last time we were funded I think was around March.
“Our business model was to be funded by the CBN and that is what we have been working with from 2006 till date. That is where most people were making their living and with the new financial requirement, they have made it unattainable for most of our members.
Firstly, it’s uncertain how many can achieve the N2 billion and N500 million deposits. Secondly, even if they manage to do so, what about the profitability of the business? Thirdly, there is a lack of policy consistency.
“You might say, you want to source money from partners abroad but the perception of our policy inconsistency is a big minus. There is no guarantee that in the next one or two years, the policy will even remain. These are some of the challenges surrounding the new regulations,” he lamented.
Gwadebe expressed frustration over the challenges in receiving feedback from the CBN recently.
“There is a need for clarity and there appears to be a lot of reorganisation taking place there. So, communication is broken and getting clarification is hard. The CBN is mute or muted as far as I’m concerned,” he noted.
Efforts to contact the acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Sidi Ali, have been unsuccessful as calls to her phone were unanswered, and messages sent via text and WhatsApp remain unanswered as of the time of this report.
Regarding compliance by BDCs, an anonymous source, speaking without authorization on the matter, mentioned that it is still early days for full compliance.
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“There is no rush now but they still don’t have any choice but to adhere to the guidelines,” the source asserted.
The source revealed that BDCs would receive official notification if the CBN ceased selling foreign exchange (FX) to them.
The apex bank resumed FX sales to BDCs on February 27, and since then, it has conducted about four sales to eligible operators.