The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the operational licenses of more than 4,000 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators registered under its oversight.
The apex bank indicated that the revocation was due to the failure of the affected BDCs to comply with certain regulatory guidelines.
This information was revealed in a statement signed by the Director of Corporate Communications at the bank.
Additionally, the bank has published a list of the affected BDCs on its official website for the public.
It stated,
- “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in exercise of the powers conferred on it under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change 2015 (the Guidelines), has revoked the licenses of 4,173 Bureaux De Change Operators.
- The list of affected BDC operators is available on the Bank’s website (www.cbn.gov.ng).”
- “The affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the following regulatory provisions:
- ”a. Payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period in line with the Guidelines. 1. Rendition of returns in line with the Guidelines. 2. Compliance with guidelines, directives and circulars of the CBN, particularly
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) regulations.”
Furthermore, the bank noted it is currently revising the regulatory guidelines of BDCs and their operations and the public should take note of its current position.
Backstory: The CBN had recently introduced a draft guideline for BDC operations across the country.
- Major provisions introduced to the guidelines of BDCs include; the introduction of N2 billion minimum share capital for Tier-1 BDCs, limiting buying and selling forex in cash by BDCs to $500, and a $10, 000year limit for school fees amongst others.