The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the deadline for Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to meet new recapitalization requirements to December 31, 2025, according to information shared by BDC operators in their group chat.
This six-month extension comes after the expiration of the previous deadline on June 3, 2025. The CBN has yet to issue an official notice confirming the extension.
The development coincides with the appreciation of the naira against the dollar in foreign exchange markets on Tuesday.
Low Compliance Rate Among BDC Operators
Aminu Gwadabe, president of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), revealed that the compliance level with the recapitalization requirements stood at merely 10 percent. He had previously urged BDC operators to consider mergers as a strategy to meet the new capital thresholds.
The CBN initially announced the recapitalization exercise in February 2024, introducing a two-tier structure for BDCs. Under this framework, Tier-1 BDCs must raise a minimum capital of N2 billion to continue nationwide operations, while Tier-2 BDCs need to raise at least N500 million but will be restricted to operating within a single state.
Timeline of Recapitalization Deadlines
The recapitalization journey has seen multiple extensions:
Initial deadline: December 3, 2024
First extension: June 3, 2025
Current extension: December 31, 2025
BenriNews reports that the naira recorded gains across both official and parallel foreign exchange markets on Tuesday, showing signs of strengthening amid these regulatory changes in the foreign exchange sector.
The extension provides BDC operators additional time to raise the required capital, potentially through mergers or acquisitions as suggested by ABCON leadership.
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