Business
CBN Withdraws Licences of Bureaux De Change
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it is withdrawing the operating licences of Bureaux de Change (BDC) in class `A’ category with effect from Monday.
The apex bank said in a statement made available to The Tide source in Lagos on Wednesday that those affected were banks, other financial institutions and operators.
It said the decision was in accordance with its commitment to the eradication of money laundering.
Reports say that the CBN restructured the bureaux into `A’ and `B’ categories in 2009 to further liberalise the foreign exchange market.
“In view of this unhealthy development and in line with its avowed commitment to the eradication of money laundering, the Central Bank of Nigeria has decided to withdraw all the licences of the existing class `A’ BDC with effect from November 8, 2010,” the statement said.
It said that those affected were free to apply for class `B’ licence with the attendant privileges by fulfilling stipulated licensing requirements.
“Following the withdrawal of the licences and termination of the attendant privileges, the CBN shall within 30 days refund all mandatory caution deposits lodged with the bank,” the statement said.
The CBN said the main objective was to facilitate access of end- users to foreign exchange from official sources.
This, it explained, would boost economic growth by promoting productivity and efficiency of small and medium-scale enterprises.
The apex bank said it was also reviewing the two-tier structure following its failure to achieve the stated objectives.
It stated that the appraisal of the policy revealed gross abuses of the enhanced official funding of the class `A’ category of the bureaux and the negation of the expected benefits to the economy.
“Available information to CBN has also revealed that the target end-users have been sidelined while large transactions that should have been channelled through the banking system have been carried out through class `A’ BDC.
“Furthermore, returns from the Nigeria Customs Services on foreign currency declaration by travellers show that large amounts of up to $3 million (N450 million) cash have been taken out of the country by individuals in single trips,” the bank said.
The CBN said it had received complaints from foreign countries that some Nigerian travellers were carrying large amounts of money in cash.
This, the bank said, was a worrisome development that negated expected benefits from further liberalisation of the foreign exchange market.
“The CBN shall continue to monitor the operations of the BDC with a view to fine-tuning the operational guidelines for enhanced efficiency,” the statement said.
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