The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the temporary access granted to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators to purchase foreign exchange from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) until May 30, 2025.
This is in a move to sustain liquidity and stabilize the foreign exchange market.
This extension, announced in a circular issued on Monday by the Trade and Exchange Department, allows BDCs to continue sourcing forex from authorized dealers under the same conditions initially set in December 2024. The previous directive, which was set to expire on January 31, capped weekly forex purchases at $25,000 per BDC.
The circular read, “We refer to our circular TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/030 dated December 19, 2024, which granted temporary access to existing BDCs to the NFEM for the purchase of FX from Authorised Dealers, subject to a weekly cap of USD25,000.00.
“All other terms and conditions in the above-mentioned circular remain unchanged.
“The CBN remains committed to a fully functional foreign exchange market and will continue to provide liquidity when necessary to manage price volatility.”
The extension comes at a time Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves are under pressure. Data from the CBN shows that the country’s reserves dropped by $1.11 billion in January alone, falling from $40.88 billion on January 2 to $39.77 billion by the end of the month—a 2.72% decline.
This sharp drop is attributed to the CBN’s ongoing interventions in the forex market, external debt servicing, and capital outflows. While the naira appreciated significantly in January, the reserve depletion suggests that the apex bank may have deploying part of its forex stockpile to stabilize the local currency and manage liquidity.
By maintaining BDCs’ access to forex, the CBN aims to keep liquidity flowing in the retail market and ensure that personal and business-related transactions are not disrupted.
Over the past year, the CBN has tightened its grip on forex policies, enforcing stricter regulations on BDC operations, cracking down on speculative trading, and working to unify exchange rates.
