The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released guidelines for the sale of foreign exchange (Forex) by Bureau De Change (BDC) operators within the country.
The guidelines require that sellers of $10,000 and above to BDCs will have to declare the source of foreign exchange.
CBN also said the minimum capital requirement for tier 1 BDCs is N2 billion and N500 million for tier 2 BDCs, from N35 million previously set for all BDCs.
The apex bank, in the document released on Friday, February 23, disclosed that the guidelines revise the permissible activities, licensing requirements, corporate governance and anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) provisions for BDCs.
The draft guidelines also proposed a significant enhancement to the regulatory framework for the operations of Bureau De Change as part of ongoing reforms of the Nigerian foreign exchange market.
According to the circular, commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks shall not be allowed to participate in the ownership of BDCs — directly or indirectly.
Also, CBN said other financial institutions (OFIS), including holding companies and payment service providers are not permitted to own BDCs…(continue reading from next slide.)
