By Chioma Iruke
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has put a halt on dollar transactions by Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the country.
The CBN cited illegal forex trading as reasons for the halt, stating that it would henceforth discontinue the sale of forex to the BDC operators in Nigeria.
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced this on Tuesday after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that began Monday.
The CBN also confirmed that they will no longer license new BDC operations in the country and have also halted all current processes for new licenses.
The Governor, while making these announcements, promised to deal “ruthlessly” with Nigerian banks caught in these illegal acts.
This was even as the apex bank retained the monetary policy rate at 11.5 per cent, with the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR.
The bank also held other parameters.
Addressing journalists at the end of the two-day meeting of the MPC in Abuja, Mr Emefiele said the committee voted to keep the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 27.5 per cent, as well as the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.
In May, the MPC had retained the monetary policy rate at 11.5 per cent, with the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR.
The committee also voted to retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 27.5 per cent as well as the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.
The committee argued that the move was expected to allow further economic growth, despite four-year high inflation, after the country exited recession last year.
On Tuesday, Mr Emefiele said the MPC noted that although headline inflation remained above the CBN’s target range of between six and nine per cent, the bank’s intervention in various sectors of the economy would help push inflation downward.
It noted the gradual recovery in economic output growth, and hoped the second quarter growth will be better.
