The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday continued its aggressive intervention in the foreign exchange market as part of stabilizing the Naira’s value against major currencies of the world, crashing the rate at which it sells forex to Bureaux De Change (BDCs) to N360/US$.
The move, coming barely 24 hours after a directive to the nation’s Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to sell forex obtained from it to retail end-users at not more than N360/US$1 for invisibles, would see the BDCs sell to end users at not more than N362/US$1.
Confirming the development, Isaac Okorafor, CBN Acting Director of Corporate Communications, while confirming the directive in Abuja on Tuesday, said the objective of the new forex sale policy is to ensure a convergence of the rates in the interbank and BDC.
He expressed the CBN’s commitment to ensuring transparency in the market as well as fairness to end-users, many of who hitherto experienced challenges in accessing foreign exchange.
Okoroafor therefore urged licensed BDCs to play by the rule, as the CBN would not hesitate to sanction any erring dealer.
Meanwhile, the CBN spokesman also disclosed to newsmen that the sum of $100 million offered to authorized FOREX dealers in the interbank wholesale window to meet the requests of genuine wholesale customers was fully subscribed at the auction on Tuesday, March 28, 2017.
Okorafor also reiterated his call to all stakeholders to play their respective roles in ensuring a smooth running of the foreign exchange market for the benefit of the Nigerian economy.