Foreign exchange speculators are set to lose over N100 billion in the next one month as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sustains massive funding for Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators.
This is as the apex bank still sells dollars to BDC operators at N393 to a dollar.
This disclosure was made by the President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Dr. Aminu Gwadabe, on Friday in Lagos, who said the CBN is committed to improving funding for over 5,000 BDCs nationwide in a new move to deepen market liquidity and protect the naira against speculators.
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He called for the return of normalcy to the market as the ongoing speculative behaviour hampering the market operations and stability will come at a huge loss to speculators.
The ABCON boss linked the continued fall of the naira at the parallel market and Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) Forex window to currency speculators who are hoarding dollars to profit from the currency crisis.
He said the perpetrators are creating artificial scarcity of the greenback within the market to cause more woes for the local currency.
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Gwadabe said the ABCON Management and the CBN-licensed BDCs will fight alongside the regulator to ensure that speculators lose their capital should they persist in the illegal activity.
He said, “The ABCON and CBN have observed with disdain the speculative behaviour currently beclouding the market with the misinformation that the CBN has adopted I&E window as its official rate. The above information is not true because as operators we still funded our accounts at our normal rates of N393/$ and not the I&E window rates for our operation this Friday.’’
He advised BDCs not to join the rumour mongers creating confusion and fragility in the market.
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Gwadabe said, “ABCON Will continue to keep you posted and guide you accordingly. We urge all members to continue to give the CBN the utmost support as a strategic partner and in the interest of the economy.’’
He said that CBN-licenced BDCs are fighting back by supporting the apex bank in tackling forex spectators and reiterating commitment to operate within set rules.
Gwadabe said the “Naira for Dollar Policy” being implemented by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele would further lift market liquidity and improve the status of the naira.
The policy, he added will provide Nigerians in the Diaspora with cheaper and more convenient ways of sending remittances to Nigeria and increase dollar inflows into the economy.
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He reiterated the provision of a news circular on remittances, where the CBN Governor said the bank introduced the rebate of N5 for every $1 of fund remitted to Nigeria, through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) licensed by the Central Bank in order to incentivize the process of remittance.
He emphasized that the new measure would help to make the process of sending remittance through formal bank channels cheaper and more convenient for Nigerians in the diaspora.
Gwadabe said BDCs will continue to defend the naira through compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) policy, supporting CBN’s exchange rate stability policies.