The dollar sales programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria is facing imminent collapse as Bureaux De Change operators are demanding the naira deposited with the apex bank as they couldn’t get the naira equivalent as promised by the CBN
In February, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) resumed dollar sales to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to intervene in the retail segment of the forex market. Since then, the CBN has held three editions of the dollar sales, with the last edition offering to sell $10,000 per BDC at a maximum margin of 1.5%.
However, BDC operators have raised concerns about the delay in dollar disbursement from the CBN. They have reported that it takes three to four weeks between when they make payment and when the dollars are disbursed to them. As a result of this delay and the uncertainty in the forex market, some BDCs have requested a refund of their Naira payment from the CBN.
According to top BDC operators who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Vanguard, some of the BDCs that requested refunds have received their money.
Speaking to Vanguard on condition of anonymity, the Chief Executive of a BDC said, “I think the CBN is overwhelmed. You pay money and it takes one month for you to collect $10,000. It is over a month now since they intervened and they have not intervened again.
“Even the last one that they did some BDCs are just collecting the dollars. Some are even saying they should return their money. They are asking for a refund because there are many challenges. Some have paid but their name is appearing in another location which makes it impossible to collect the dollars. Some are getting their refund but it is a very slow pace too.”
Also speaking on condition of anonymity, another BDC operator said, “There is no supply. The CBN supply is slow. They sell one tranche for one month. It is too low. If they don’t have the money they should tell us we don’t have the money.”
Meanwhile, the Naira has sustained its depreciation in both the parallel and official markets as speculation and hoarding persist.
The Naira depreciated further in the parallel market to N1,435 per dollar from N1,415 per dollar on Tuesday, despite sustained nationwide raids and arrests of street currency hawkers.
It also depreciated to N1,421.06 per dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM). According to FMDQ data, the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM fell to N1,421.06 per dollar from N1,416.57 per dollar on Tuesday, indicating a N4.49 depreciation for the naira.
As a result, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rates widened to N13.94 per dollar from N1.57 per dollar on Tuesday.
