The President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, has raised concerns about the hardship that BDC operators face in accessing dollars for their operations.
“Survival is not easy, like I said, because the only client you rely on now is even the walk-in customer, supposedly the one you are allowed to deal with,” Gwadebe said, adding that “until after the reforms, we cannot access oil companies; we cannot access domiciliary accounts. However, in the policies, all those issues have been addressed. But as of now, until they are implemented, that’s when we can begin to talk about having some liquidity.”
Amid this challenge, the BDC segment is also facing a recapitalisation mandate from the apex bank, a directive Gwadebe said BDC operators were already complying with.
Under the fresh recapitalisation mandate, Tier-1 BDCs are required to raise a minimum capital of N2bn, while Tier-2 operators must provide N500m. Operators must also reapply for licences, with non-refundable fees set at N5m for Tier-1 and N2m for Tier-2.
The CBN initially gave a six-month window for compliance, which expired in December 2024; it, however, granted an additional six months for compliance.
