No sooner than the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) requested the Central Bank of Nigeria to reduce the size of the Bureau De Change (BDCs) operators in the country, than the apex bank announced that it has revoked the licenses of 4,173 Bureaux De Change Operators across the country.
Data obtained from the CBN website, shows that prior to the licenses revocation, there were 5,690 BDC operators nationwide.
This implies 1, 517 BDCs are still in operations.
Specifically, on Tuesday February 27, Otunba Francis Meshioye, the President of MAN, had
during the 8th edition of the MAN Reporter of the Year Award and the 2024 Presidential Media Luncheon, said :
” CBN had better reduce the numbers of BDCs into large and well-established operators to curb their excesses and untowards operations through effective management and supervision.
” We should have large numbers rather than the many numbers that we have; the money sizable and robust the BDCs are, the better for the economy; you can really monitor their actions and track undocumented things that are happening and causing havoc to our economy,” he said.
Then on March 1, CBN, in a statement signed by Sidi Ali, Hakama (Mrs.) Ag. Director, Corporate Communications, said that the apex bank in exercise of the powers conferred on it under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change 2015 (the Guidelines), revoked the operational licenses of affected BDC operators .
” The affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the following regulatory provisions:
a. Payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period in line with the guidelines.
b. Rendition of returns in line with the guidelines.
c. Compliance with guidelines, directives and circulars of the CBN, particularly
Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) regulations.
The CBN is revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change
operations in Nigeria. Compliance with the new requirements will be mandatory for all
stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective.”
It urges members of the public to take note and be guided accordingly.