The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sanctioned the sale of $20,000 to eligible Bureaux De Change (BDCs) as part of efforts to mitigate the persistent price distortions impacting the exchange rate of the Naira, The Global News reports.
The bank noted ongoing price distortions at the retail level of the market, which are contributing to fluctuations in the parallel market and exacerbating the exchange rate premium.
This was contained in a circular issued on Tuesday by the Director of the Trade & Exchange Department at the CBN, Hassan Mahmud.
According to the circular, each BDC will be granted access to $20,000 at the rate of N1,301/$, which corresponds to the lower band rate of executed spot transactions at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) for the preceding trading day.
The CBN emphasized that all eligible BDCs must strictly adhere to guidelines governing the sale of foreign exchange to end-users.
The bank directed BDCs to sell to end-users with a margin not exceeding one percent of the purchase rate from the CBN.
To streamline the process, BDCs are mandated to make Naira payments to the specified CBN Foreign Currency Deposit Naira Accounts. Afterwards, they must submit confirmation of payment along with other required documentation for disbursement at the designated CBN branches in Abuja, Awka, Lagos, and Kano.