Gwadabe Faults New CBN Forex Policy

By Dipo Olowookere

President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr Aminu Gwadabe, has warned that the new foreign exchange policy introduced on Monday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will worsen the crises of multiplicity of rates the country is still battling with.

Mr Gwadabe made this known in an interview on Tuesday in Lagos.

According to him, the new policy will breed a new set of currency traders.

The ABCON boss noted that the directive by the CBN to commercial banks to sell dollars for school fees and medicals will “breed another FX traders between the banks and the end users.”

He pointed out that with this loophole, the apex bank will be unable to achieve its objectives in the short- term due to protracted liquidity challenges.

“The rate disparity between banks and the BDCs will definitely breed another FX  traders between the banks and the end users.

“We will see the return of what is normally called the proliferation of bank’s treasurers/account officers turning to BDC operators overnight,” he said.

“Due to long time perverse lack of liquidity and the volume of FX done by the mega banks, the objectives will not meet the expectations of the CBN in the short term,” he added.

Mr Gwadabe said further that, “The directive has added another rate to the lingering crises of the multiplicity of rates in the market and is highly skewed in favour of the banks.”

According to him, “The BDCs are not meant to be in competition with the banks. We are supposed to provide complementary roles.

“It is only in Nigeria that you want to buy 2000 dollars and you are meant to go to the banks and queue for two months, without allocations, which is in conflicts with the BDCs operations on cash and spot.

“The implication is that the BDCs will buy International Money Transfer Services Operators (IMTSO) proceeds at 381 per dollar and sell at N399 to a dollar, while the banks are to buy at N315 per dollar and sell at N375 per dollar for them to make their 20 per cent above the interbank rate.

“This is our concern as an association and the entire BDC operators in the country.”