CBN Revokes 2,991 BDC Licences

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has reduced the number of Bureau de Change, BDC dealers to 2,991 from the over 5,689 previously approved.

The apex bank yesterday published a list of approved BDCs which revealed that the licenses of 2,698 BDCs have been revoked.

You will recall that a similar list was published by the apex bank last year, which approved 5,689 black market dealers.

The number of operators has experienced substantial growth, increasing from 74 in 2005 to 5,689 in 2021.

Former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, later prohibited the sale of foreign exchange to BDCs due to concerns about round-tripping and involvement in illicit financial activities.

Under President Tinubu’s administration, recommendations were made to implement key reforms such as increasing the capitalization requirements for BDC operators and allowing Nigerian banks to act as primary dealers in the forex market