CBN raises BDC’s weekly forex supply to $50,000

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the weekly supply of forex to registered Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in the country from $30,000 to $50,000, to shore up supply and force down the exchange rate of the dollar, which has been ascending against the naira.

The decision was one of the outcome of yesterday’s bankers’ committee meeting in Abuja, where the top management of the apex bank met with chief executives of deposit money banks and other regulators to assess development in the sector and proffer solutions.

Addressing journalists at the end of the meeting, representatives of the committee, drawn from the CBN and the banks’ chiefs, explained that the decision to raise the weekly supply was informed by rising demand for forex by parents making school fees and medical payments overseas, a situation which put pressure on the naira, making it berth at N309.8/$1 at the interbank market and N400/$1 at the parallel market.

At the briefing were Group Managing Directors of Zenith Bank, Peter Amangbo; UBA, Kennedy Uzoka; and Jaiz Bank, Hassan Usman. Representatives of the apex bank were Director of Banking Supervision, Tokunbo Martins, and Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor.

They explained that with the increase in the amount of forex, a BDC operator could now access, the apex bank would equally increase its monitoring to ensure that guidelines were not abused.

Tokunbo Martins disclosed that a decision was also taken to start disbursement of special intervention fund to support primary agricultural projects and core manufacturing.