The maximum amount of Dollars that could be sold to the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the country has been increased from $30,000 to $50,000 per week.
At the Bankers’ Committee meeting held at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday, it was agreed that to boost the economy of the country, the amount of Dollar made available to the BDCs must be reviewed upward.
Lately, the Naira has suffered against the Dollar at the international market.
Addressing newsmen after the meeting in Abuja, the Director, Banking Supervision Department, CBN, Mrs Tokunbo Martins, explained that he review was approved so as to make foreign exchange available to the BDCs as well as assist in bringing down the huge margin between the naira and the dollar.
Mrs Martins said some other issues discussed at the 328th Bankers Committee meeting were the state of the economy, financial inclusion and financial literacy, savings mobilisation, and foreign exchange management.
Also addressing journalists, the Managing Director of United Bank for Africa, Mr Kennedy Uzoka, explained that the country was in a stage where a lot of dollar would be needed to meet financial obligations of overseas students.
He said apart from this, it was imperative to also increase the weekly sale of dollars to BDCs in order to meet the rising demand of those traveling abroad for business trips.
“The issue of making foreign exchange available to Nigerians has been very topical and the CBN has been working very hard to address this.
“About two weeks ago, a policy was released that made banks to send money to the BDCs and the BDCs are supposed to pass this money to Nigerians for various needs.
“At the meeting today and as expected, we got feedback from the market and the CBN, being a responsive regulator, has decided to move the limit of$30,000 per the BDC to $50,000.
“So, we believe that this development will make more cash available to the BDCs and increase the supply and help drive down the price,” Mr Uzoka said.
About two weeks ago, the CBN directed banks to provide BDCs with a maximum of $30,000 per week.
