Banks Chief Executives have assured customers and the general public that Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) are prepared to meet dollar demands from genuine Foreign Exchange (FX) end-users as directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This is just as the CBN has said it will commence the refund of the N35 million minimum capital deposits to current applicants of Bureau De Change licenses.
The bank CEOs also warned against the presentation of fake documents for foreign exchange purchase, stressing that anyone attempting to purchase FX with fake documents will be reported to the CBN and the Police for possible prosecution.
This follows the decision of the CBN to cancel foreign exchange sales to bureaux de change (BDCs), directing that members of the public should go to their banks to purchase FX for legitimate transactions.
Speaking under the aegis of the Body of Bank Chief Executives at a virtual press briefing on Thursday, the banks’ CEOs, said that exchange rates and promptness of services will be uniform across the board.
According to the Chairman, body of Bank CEOs Herbert Wigwe, the banks have started implementing the directives of the CBN by deploying the needed infrastructure including dedicated tellers in their branches to sell FX to customers.
He assured end-users of foreign exchange that there is no cause for alarm as banks spread across the country are set to meet customers FX needs.
“We have the spread, infrastructure and personnel to service the retail end of the forex market in line with the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” he assured.
Also speaking, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Mr Segun Agbaje, said the banks need not apply for other licenses as they already have one that allows them to deal in forex and have been doing so all along.
He also said the decision to stop selling FX to BDCs will not necessarily cause depreciation of the Naira because customers have a wider network to buy from, and in terms of abuse banks will build strong controls around FX transactions to ensure strict compliance.
The bank CEOs present include; Herbert Wigwe of Access Bank Plc, Segun Agbaje of GT Holding Company, Tomi Somefun of Unity Bank, Yemisi Edun of FCMB Bank, and Patrick Akinwuntan of Ecobank.
Similarly, a statement signed by the apex bank’s Director of Financial Policy and Regulations Department, Ibrahim Tukur, said the bank will also commence the refund of licensing fees.
A non-refundable licensing fee of N1 million and a minimum capital of N35 million are parts of the requirements for granting licenses to BDC operators.
The new development comes after the apex bank banned the sale of forex to the BDCs on grounds of illicit operations and graft and said it no longer grant new BDC licenses.
The CBN advised the BDC promoters to write to the bank’s Director of Financial Policy and Regulations Department, requesting for their refund.
“The request should be accompanied (with) the Telex copy of the capital deposit of N35million; Account details for the refund which should be the same as the account from which the capital deposit originated from and a copy of the bank draft/telex for payment of licensing fee of N1 Million(if any)”.
Also, a hardcopy of the letter of request is to be submitted to CBN head office, Abuja or Lagos in an envelope clearly marked “Refund of BDC capital deposit “ at its top left corner.
There is an option of sending the softcopy of the writing in advance of the hardcopy to fprdlicensing@cbn.gov.ng
The apex bank directed all commercial banks to stop receiving the capital deposits on its behalf.
“In addition, all Deposit Money Banks are hereby directed to henceforth stop accepting instructions from customers to transfer a capital deposit of N35 million to the designated CBN account for the purpose of applying for BDC licenses.
The bank said that a toll-free line had been set up at the CBN for bank customers to escalate unresolved complaints related to their FX requests.
The memo assured that CBN would continue to closely monitor banks’ conduct and compliance with the directive in order to ensure an efficient FX market for all legitimate users.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
True! Consuming Rotten Tomatoes May Cause Liver Cancer
CLAIM: A Facebook user claims that the consumption of rotten tomatoes, popularly known as Esa in South-West Nigeria, can cause liver cancer.Banks assure customers of hitch-free dollar supply
and then