CBN revokes 2,689 bureau de change licenses

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cut down the ealier approved number of Bureau de Change (BDC) dealers from over 5,689 to 2,991.

The CBN on Wednesday, published a list of approved BDC’s which means the licenses of 2,698 BDCs have been revoked.

Recall that in 2022, the CBN published a similar list which approved 5,689 black market dealers.

The number of operators has experienced substantial growth, increasing from 74 in 2005 to 5,689 in 2021.

Former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, later prohibited the sale of foreign exchange to BDCs due to concerns about round-tripping and involvement in illicit financial activities.

The new administration has made recommendations to implement key reforms such as increasing the capitalisation requirements for BDC operators and allowing banks in Nigeria to act as primary dealers in the forex market.