It’s anybody’s guess how FirstBank
Nigeria Limited was able to win the confidence of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) which made the apex bank to retain the former as the major
foreign exchange dealer to
licenced Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in Nigeria.
The Nation can authoritatively report
that the FBN Limited was able to achieve that laudable feat due to a
combination of factors.
Checks by The Nation revealed that the
apex banks apparently miffed by failure to fully comply with the
directive which requires commercial banks that act as agents of
international money transfer operators to always sell foreign currency
remittances to licensed BDC operators, had issued a circular last
Wednesday where it relieved other banks of the role, and retained
FirstBank Nigeria Limited as sole dealers to the BDCs.
The announcement by the CBN is coming on
the heels of the FBN’s stable money transfer services as well as its
strict compliance to CBN’s rules and directives on the sale of foreign
exchange.
While all the affected banks are
expected to sell their dollar inflows from remittances to Travelex, for
onward sale to the BDCs.
How FBN Limited bested other banks
Investigation by The Nation revealed
that the Bank had consistently sold dollars to over 500 BDCs as directed
by the CBN to improve dollar liquidity and strengthen the Naira in line
with the new flexible foreign exchange policy.
The CBN took the decision because the
returns on forex sales showed that the affected banks had not been
active in selling the greenback to BDC operators since the directive was
given in July.
Thus FBN Limited unlike other deposit
money banks having proved its worth and mettle as a dependable ally to
the apex bank became the standard bearer where others failed.
The FirstBank in a statement over the
weekend described CBN’s pronouncement as a testament to the Bank’s
strong financial base and its avowed support to the growth and
development of a sustainable national economy.
The Bank’s Chief Financial Officer,
Patrick Iyamabo, recently noted that the Bank will continue to strive to
maintain its position as the safest and most respected banking
franchise in the country.
He said:“We would continue to leverage
our unique ability to grow and capitalize the institution – a testament
to our solid track record. Our highest priority remains meeting the
financing and banking needs of our customers, by providing world class
services, knowledge and expertise to support them, even in very
difficult times.”
The Bank said it remains committed to
corporate governance principles and would continue to ensure that
dollars sales to the BDCs continue in a seamless manner for ease of
distribution to the end users.
While justifying the decision to remove
the function of dollar remittance sales to BDCs from the other banks,
the President of the Association of Bureau De Change of Nigeria (ABCON),
Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said it was a big relief to the BDC operators.
Among other things, he said the move would help strengthen the naira and improve dollar liquidity in the market.
“It will ensure that more dollars are
distributed to BDCs in uniform and transparent manner as some of the
banks have not been selling funds from the international money transfer
operators (IMTOs).
“If you check, since Travelex started
selling to BDCs, speculation has reduced in the market and the naira is
on the path of recovery. My advise to our members is to partner with the
central bank on this project. I advice everybody to be patriotic, any
member that goes against the rule would be punished,” Gwadabe said in a
telephone chat.
Commenting on the suspension of his
members, he said those affected would in the coming days ensure they
renew licences for them to be reinstated in the market.
Travelex, a global foreign exchange
company last week began weekly disbursements of US$15,000 (part of the
country’s diaspora remittances) to each of the 3,000 registered Bureaux
DeBDC) operators in the country.
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