BDC business perks up as banks reject dollar

Bureau De Change (BDC) businesses have improved as Naira gradually appreciated against the dollar, following the refusal by banks to accept forex into domiciliary accounts of customers.
Banks had started the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy as a temporary measure to stabilise the Naira.
The Naira had earlier weakened on the parallel market due to persistent dollar shortages after the CBN policy limiting some importers’ access to forex to save the external reserves.
Alhaji Dan-Mani Wurno, a BDC operator in Abuja, said the business had picked up compared with the previous week due to scarcity of dollars.
“The Naira had reached a record low of N260 to a dollar. But since banks started rejecting cash deposits of foreign currencies, BDCs are now flooded with foreign currencies.
“Right now, the Naira is selling at N210 to a dollar. In fact we buy at N200 and sell at that amount. So business is good,’’ he said.
Another BDC operator, Alhaji Garba Mohammed, said the gap between the price of dollar at the interbank and parallel bank might be bridged if banks continued to reject forex.
“The scarcity of dollar started since the CBN stopped BDCs from bidding for forex. We had to rely on banks and customers for our supplies.
“This has brought uncertainty to our businesses. Operators hoard dollars because they do not know when they will get it, and so many people rely on this channel for foreign exchange,’’ he said.
A cross section of foreign exchange dealers said that with the development, the Naira would likely appreciate further against the dollar at the black market.