E-Financial
CBN Raises BDC’s Share Capital to N2bn
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has proposed two categories of Bureau De Change (BDC) licence- Tier 1 and Tier 2- that would see the minimum capital requirement of operators in the former and latter categories pegged at N2 billion and N500 million respectively.
The apex bank stated this in the draft Revised Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for BDC operations in Nigeria posted on its website late on Friday.
Under the extant regulations, BDCs had to apply for a general license and have a minimum capital requirement of N35 million.
The new guidelines contain several new changes to the guidelines for BDC operations in the country. If approved, the new guidelines will be effective at a date that will be announced by the CBN.
Specifically, the proposed new guidelines state that: “Tier 1 BDC is authorized to operate on a national basis. It can open branches and may appoint franchisees, subject to the approval of the CBN. A Tier 1 BDC (which is the franchisor) shall exercise supervisory oversight over its franchisees. All franchisees shall adopt their franchisor’s name, branding, technology platform and rendition requirements.
“A Tier 2 BDC is authorized to operate only in one state or the FCT. It may have up to three locations – a head office and two branches, subject to approval of the CBN. It is not permitted to appoint franchisees.”
Furthermore, in addition to the N2 billion capital requirement, a Tier 1 BDC is expected to pay an N200 million mandatory caution deposit, N1 million non-refundable application fee, N5 million non-refundable license fee and N5 million non-refundable annual fee.
Tier 2 BDC operators, apart from N500 million minimum share capital, are expected to deposit a mandatory caution deposit of N50 million as well as non-refundable application and license fees of N250,000 and N2 million respectively.
In addition, Tier 2 BDCs are expected to pay a non-refundable annual fee of N1 million.
The apex bank also stated that the prescribed minimum capital of BDCs and any subsequent capital injection shall be subject to its verification.
On operators’ permissible and non-permissible activities, the new guidelines propose that BDCs should 25 per cent of foreign exchange purchased for Business Travel Allowance or Personal Travel Allowance in cash while the remaining 75 per cent should be transferred electronically to the customer’s Nigerian domiciliary account or prepaid card.
However, the guidelines said that customers receiving $500 or less than $500 should be paid fully in cash.
The guidelines also stipulate that BDCs should retrieve resident customers’ Bank Verification Numbers, (BVN), or Tax Identification Numbers, TIN before carrying out foreign exchange transactions.
Other highlights of the guidelines include: “A BDC or its franchisee shall not engage in the following activities: Street-trading, maintaining any type of account for any member of the public, including accepting any asset for safekeeping/custody; Taking deposits from or granting loans to members of the public in any currency and in any form;
“Retail sale of foreign currencies to non-individuals, except for BTA International outward transfers; Engaging in off-shore business or maintaining the foreign correspondent relationship with any foreign establishment; Opening or maintaining any account with any bank or financial institution outside Nigeria;
“Acting as custodian of foreign currency on behalf of customers; International inward transfers, except for operators that serve as cash-out points for IMTOs;
“Borrowing sums which in aggregate exceed the equivalent of 30 per cent of its shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses, in the BDC’s audited financial statements of the preceding year;
“ Engaging in forwards, futures, options, or other derivative/speculative transactions; obtaining foreign exchange from sources other than those listed in Section 4.0;
“ Granting of loans and advances in any currency; selling foreign exchange on credit to any customer; engaging in any trade-related import activities and serving as payment or collection agents on behalf of customers.”
World Bank has approved an additional $65 million loan for Nigeria to support the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project, increasing the total financing for the initiative to $145 million.
The approval was granted on June 24, 2025, according to details posted on the World Bank’s website, which also indicates that the project’s status has moved to “active” following the approval.
The SPESSE project, initially launched with an $80 million loan approved in February 2020, aims to strengthen institutional capacity for managing procurement, environmental, and social standards in both the public and private sectors across Nigeria.
The World Bank described the project’s development objective as the establishment of sustainable capacity in these areas.
This latest approval is part of a broader wave of financing expected from the World Bank to Nigeria in 2025.
The bank is scheduled to approve loans totalling $1.61 billion over the coming months, supporting various development initiatives.
Among these is a $300 million loan for the ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project,’ expected to be finalised by the end of July.
This project aims to improve access to basic services and economic opportunities for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in selected local government areas in northern Nigeria.
In September, the World Bank plans to approve four additional loans: a $10.5 million facility to support technical assistance for the Central Bank of Nigeria, a $300 million Health Security Program targeting Western and Central Africa (Nigeria – Phase IV), a $500 million project for building resilient digital infrastructure (BRIDGE), and a $500 million loan under the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth project aimed at promoting sustainable growth and job creation within key agricultural sectors.
Earlier in March 2025, the bank approved three financing requests amounting to $1.13 billion.
These funds are directed towards projects focused on enhancing quality education, boosting household and community resilience, and improving nutrition.
Among the approved loans were $80 million for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project, $552 million for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme, and $500 million for the Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme.
In February, the Nigerian government announced expectations of new World Bank loans totalling $2.2 billion for six different projects in 2025. This follows a $1.5 billion loan disbursed in 2024 aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s economic stability and resource mobilisation efforts.
Ecobank, a pan-African financial services group, has partnered with Google Cloud in a deal to improve financial services with advanced analytics, AI and driving digital empowerment across Africa.
This collaboration will focus on leveraging Google Cloud’s advanced technologies and AI to enhance Ecobank’s digital offerings to accelerate the digital transformation of the Bank.
The partnership agreement is designed to empower individuals, support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, and contribute to the overall economic development of Africa.
“Our collaboration with Google Cloud is a leap forward in Ecobank’s digital transformation journey. We look forward to leveraging Google Cloud’s world-class technology to unlock new possibilities for individuals and businesses to grow and scale across Africa,” said Jeremy Awori, group chief executive officer of Ecobank.
“This collaboration signifies our shared intent to explore building a more connected and financially inclusive future for the continent.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud, stated that Google Cloud and Ecobank have a shared vision for using technology to help deliver financial empowerment to more people and businesses in Africa.
“We look forward to exploring the ways our cutting-edge AI, powerful data analytics, and scalable infrastructure can support Ecobank’s efforts to fuel the continent’s economic development and digital future.”
The collaboration aims to simplify and streamline money transfers, both domestically and across borders. By leveraging Google Cloud’s capabilities, including its powerful data analytics platform, BigQuery, for AI-driven insights, Ecobank will aim to develop solutions that improve access to finance for SMEs, simplify payment acceptance, and provide valuable data-driven insights to help businesses scale across more than 33 countries in Africa.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has announced the successful close of the N148.7 billion Rights Issue subscription exercise following the completion of the verification exercise by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and final clearance by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Stanbic IBTC Holdings said the Rights Issue was oversubscribed by 21.9 percent, adding that the holding company has injected N140 billion into Stanbic IBTC Bank.
Kunle Adedeji, acting Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc while commenting on the just concluded rights issue programme said that “The turnout and participation of existing shareholders taking up their rights was impressive such that the rights issue was oversubscribed by 21.9percent to the tune of N181.4 billion. Our shareholders’ interest shows the confidence they continue to have in the brand,” he said.
“We appreciate the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria, The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Lead Issuing house, Joint Issuing houses and other stakeholders in the successful completion of the recapitalisation exercise.
“We are optimistic about future opportunities, as the injection of new capital will position us to take advantage of them to enable us to deliver to our shareholders. To all shareholders, we are grateful for your unwavering belief and support for the Stanbic IBTC Brand and your willingness to continue this journey with us,” Adedeji said.
Having received an injection of N140 billion from the parent company, the Chief Executive of the Banking subsidiary, Wole Adeniyi, remarked that “the injection of the new capital into the banking subsidiary is a positive development. This will enable the Bank to seize additional opportunities within the industry and enhance our Single Obligor Limit (SOL).
“We deeply appreciate the dedication and hard work of our regulators, issuing houses, and all other stakeholders. We extend our sincere gratitude for your continued support.”
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