The Central Bank of Nigeria has said it is not planning to convert the foreign exchange in domiciliary accounts of bank customers into naira.
This is according to the Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, who pointed out that those behind the speculations are criminal elements looking to create panic in the foreign exchange market.
He gave the assurance that the CBN will ensure that the legitimate FX demands of customers are met by commercial banks, as he advised FX operators to go about their business without worries.
According to ThisDay, he said this days after the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, announced that deposit money banks will henceforth be in charge of the sale of foreign exchange to Bureaux De Change and other customers.
Addressing journalists at the end of a two-day deliberation by the Monetary Policy Committee, Emefiele stated that BDCs disregarded the CBN policies put in place to safeguard the value of the naira.
He said, ”In particular, we have noted with disappointment and great concern that our BDC operators have abandoned the original objectives of their establishment which was to serve retail end users who need $5,000 or less.
“Instead, they have become wholesale dealers dealing in forex to the tune of millions of dollars per transaction, despite the fact that Nigeria is the only country in the world today where a central bank sells dollar directly to BDC operators.”
He added, ”Whereas the bank has an understanding with BDC operators that they make small margins from the US dollar allocated to them, they have reneged and become somewhat greedy, recalcitrant with abnormal high profits while ordinary Nigerians have been left to feel the pain and therefore suffer.”
