CBN Reacts to Reports of Withdrawing 2,698 BDCs Licenses as Naira Value Drops Again at Official, Black Market

CBN Reacts to Reports of Withdrawing 2,698 BDCs Licenses as Naira Value Drops Again at Official, Black Market

  • The Central Bank of Nigeria has responded to reports that it withdrew over 2,000 Bureau de Change operators licenses
  • The reports of withdrawal comes amid the continue depreciation of the naira at the official and black markets
  • The CBN and the Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria spoke with Legit.ng to set the records straight

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied reports that it has revoked the operating licenses of 2,698 Bureau De Changes (BDCs).

In several media reports, the CBN was said to have reduced the number of approved BDCs to 2,991 from 5,689.

Bureau De Change operators
The CBN denies revoking BDCs license Photo credit: Tom Satter
Source: Getty Images

However in an exclusive telephone conversation with Legit.ng Isa Abdulmumin, CBNs director of corporate communications confirmed that the number of BDCs has not changed from 5,687.

He noted that the CBN website has a full list of approved BDCs and there is no changes has reported.

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He said:

"The CBN did not revoke any BDC license approved, no changes on the license."

BDC operators reacts to CBN

Responding to the development, Aminu Gwadabe, National President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), confirmed to Legit that no BDC has reported losing its license.

He stated:

“It was fake news at the moment, what I know is CBN is currently reviewing the BDCs register."

Naira depreciation

The news of CBN BDCs license revocation came after the Naira depreciated heavily at the black and official forex markets.

The official exchange rate, according to data from FMDQ shows that Investors and Exporter’s forex window closed at N792.04/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N772.82/$1.

This happened as the value of forex transactions went down by 38.2 per cent or $30.53 million to $49.46 million from $79.99 million.

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Nigeria's excess crude account drops from $2bn to below $500k, Lawmakers demand explanation from CBN

CBN faces another headache as Nigeria’s foreign reserves fall to 2-year low

Meanwhile in another report, Legit.ng revealed that Nigeria's foreign reserves is now at a two year low.

The latest data from the CBN shows that Nigeria's reserves drop to $33 billion amid reduced earnings from crude oil sales.

The foreign reserves is a key firepower for CBN in its fight to ensure naira stay strong against other currencies.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Dave Ibemere avatar

Dave Ibemere (Senior Business Editor) Dave Ibemere is a senior business editor at Legit.ng. He is a financial journalist with over a decade of experience in print and online media. He also holds a Master's degree from the University of Lagos. He is a member of the African Academy for Open-Source Investigation (AAOSI), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and other media think tank groups. He previously worked with The Guardian, BusinessDay, and headed the business desk at Ripples Nigeria. Email: dave.ibemere@corp.legit.ng.