An expert from CircleHills, a financial company, that provides foreign exchange services and licensed to operate in Nigeria as a Bureau De Change, has spoken on the recent decision of the Apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, to discontinue sale of weekly foreign exchange (FX) to the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the money market as a result of alleged wanton abuse on the part of the BDCs.
Speaking with experts in the industry, there were mixed reactions from different financial experts concerning the decision of the apex bank.
While some feel the decision came at the right time, some are of different opinion. For the Chief Executive Officer of CircleHill BDC, Farouq Lawal, more stringent measures could be applied to resolve, considering customers’ apathy to banks’ cumbersome procedures to have access to FX.
“Although, BDCs see this as a wake-up call and opportunity to widen their customer base and deepen their business, however considering customers’ apathy to bank’s cumbersome procedures, I personally would prefer if the Apex bank can review her decision,” he said.
Furthermore, he said: “Let us not forget that we have had this same issue in 2016 and it was adjusted for vital reasons. We feel it will be better if the Apex Bank provides better clarity on its exchange rate policy to gain the confidence of foreign portfolio investors.
“If all issues that motivated the decision of the Apex bank are addressed and resolved, and stringent measures have been put in place, the erring and non-compliant operators could be responsible.”