The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the weekend disclosed that 2,699 Bureaux De Change (BDCs) complied with its new requirements for operation of such entities in the country as at December 31, 2015.
The apex bank published a list entitled, “Confirmed BDC in compliance with the new requirements for the operation of BDCs in Nigeria as at December 31, 2015”, on its website.
The CBN had in September published a list of 2,765 licensed BDCs, which it said had complied with its N35 million capitalisation requirement and another N35 million cautionary deposit for operators.
Before then however, there were 3,208 registered BDCs in the country before the expiration of the deadline on July 31, 2014 for operators to recapitalise.
The CBN had also published revised guidelines for the operation of BDCs which ordered operators to close all branches within 90 days, saying branch operation was no longer allowed in the sub-sector.
The apex bank also published the list of licenced Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) in the country, where about 958 licenced MFBs had its nod to operate in the country as at December 31, 2015.
Meanwhile, the interbank foreign exchange (forex) market closed by the CBN penultimate week due to the Christmas and New Year breaks resumed yesterday, January 4, 2016. Currency analysts had predicted that the naira would remain weak against the dollar at the parallel market until the first week of January following the suspension of foreign exchange sales by the CBN.
The naira weakened against the United States Dollar at the parallel market at the close of business last week haing closed at N262 against the green- back two days after it rose from N265 to N260.
The suspension, a normal practice in the financial services sector before the Christmas and the New Year holidays, exacerbated the current forex scarcity during the Yuletide with the continued pressure on the naira.
Analysts said the forex sale suspension made the naira to remain weak, as the dollar scarcity made it difficult for the local currency to appreciate during the Yuletide.