BDC chief says illegal operators responsible for FX manipulation

folarin okunola

March 2, 2016 1:36 PM

This comes after Godwin Emefiele, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, accused speculators and BDC operators of conniving to bring down the price of naira in the foreign exchange market.

A trader changes dollars with naira at a currency exchange store in Lagos February 12, 2015. REUTERS/Joe Penney

According to various media reports, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, president, Association of Bureau de Change Operators in Nigeria, has said that unauthorised persons posing as Bureau de Change (BDC) operators caused irregular fluctuations in the parallel market.

This comes after Godwin Emefiele, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, accused speculators and BDC operators of conniving to bring down the price of naira in the foreign exchange market.

According to Gwadabe, the recent decision of the CBN to stop the sale of foreign exchange to BDC operators made the business unsustainable to its members, which in turn left room for unauthorised dealers to flood the market.

“People think that BDC operators are making a lot of money these days. But it’s not true. People do not understand that there are a lot of participants in the parallel market.

“I can authoritatively tell you that about 80 percent of all registered BDCs in the country have closed down since the CBN stopped the sale of dollar to BDCs.

“Right now, the unlicensed BDCs are currently more than the licensed ones all over the country. And their activities are not regulated because they are not registered.

“So right now, the market is in the hands of speculators and these unlicensed BDCs,’’ Gwadabe said.

In recent times, the naira has changed for N400 to a dollar and had been fluctuating between N300 and N395 for some time.

folarin okunola