The Central Bank of Nigeria has asked existing Bureau De Change operators to reapply for licences if they want to remain in business.
This was part of the new operational guidelines released by the apex bank for Bureau De Change operators on Wednesday.
Apart from the need to reapply for their licences, the BDCs were also given a six months deadline to meet the new minimum capital requirements.
The new guidelines introduced two categories of BDCs: Tier 1 and Tier 2.
While Tier 1 should have a minimum capital base of N2 billion, those in Tier 2 have been pegged at N500 million/
These guidelines and others were contained in a circular, titled: “Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for BDC Operation in Nigeria,” signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa.
The circular stated: “As part of reforms to re-position the Bureau De Change (BDC) sub-sector to play its envisioned role in the foreign exchange market in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued the Draft Operational Guidelines for BDC Operations in Nigeria in February 2024, for stakeholder comments/inputs.
“Following the conclusion of the stakeholder consultations and in the exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 56 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, the CBN hereby issues the attached Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Bureau De Change Operations in Nigeria 2024 for compliance by all operators and promoters of proposed BDCs in Nigeria.
“The Guidelines, amongst others, introduce new licensing requirements and categories of BDCs as well as revise the permissible activities, financial requirements, corporate governance requirements and AMUCFT/CPF provisions for BDCs.
Also Read:
- House of Representatives calls for unified efforts to contain cholera outbreak
- Akpabio felicitates Muslims, Nigerians at Sallah
- Ex-Lagos PDP chairman dumps party for APC
- Cholera: Lagos confirms 15 deaths, 350 suspected cases
- Breaking: Why I dumped Super Eagles -Finidi
“All existing BDCs shall; Re-apply for a new license according to any of the Tiers or license category of their choice as provided in the Guidelines;
“Meet the minimum capital requirements for the license category applied for within six (6) months from the effective date of the Guidelines.”