On Friday, the Central Bank of Nigeria withdrew the licenses of 4,173 Bureau De Change operators for failing to comply with regulatory rules.
Sidi Hakama, the acting Director of Corporate Communications at the top bank, made the announcement in a statement.
As a result, 1,517 BDCs will be operating, up from 5,690 initially.
However, when reached for remarks on the development, Aminu Gwadabe, President of the Association of Bureau De Change of Nigeria, told one of our journalists that he wanted to pray a few minutes before 8 p.m.
Subsequent calls to his line were not taken.
In the CBN statement, Hakama said the licence withdrawal was in exercise of the powers conferred on the apex bank by the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change, 2015.
The statement read in part, “The Central Bank of Nigeria, in the exercise of the powers conferred on it under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change, 2015, has revoked the licences of 4,173 Bureaux De Change Operators.
“The list of affected BDC operators is available on the Bank’s website (www.cbn.gov.ng).”
It added that the affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the regulatory provisions.
According to the statement, the regulatory provisions include payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period.
It added, “The affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the following regulatory provisions: Payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period in line with the guidelines.
“Rendition of returns in line with the guidelines; compliance with guidelines, directives, and circulars of the CBN, particularly Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Counter-Proliferation Financing 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.
“Members of the public are hereby advised to take note and be guided accordingly.”
Recall that the CBN had recently introduced a draft guideline for BDC operations across the country.
Major provisions introduced in the guidelines include the introduction of N2bn minimum share capital for Tier-1 BDCs, limiting buying and selling of forex in cash by BDCs to $500, and $10,000-year limit for school fees, among others.
Reacting to the development, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, applauded the move to regulate the operations of the BDCs.
He said, “Definitely, revoking the licences of non-operational BDCs is the appropriate thing to do now. It is the right move because the previous number was difficult to manage and unwieldy.”