Even as they indicated their preparedness to sell foreign exchange to the general public as mandated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, bank CEOs warned against using fake documents to obtain foreign money (CBN).
This follows the CBN’s decision to stop selling foreign exchange to bureaux de change (BDCs) and instead direct clients to their banks for authorized transactions.
During a virtual news briefing hosted by the Body of Bank Chief Executives, the CEOs of the banks stated that anyone attempting to purchase foreign exchange with fake documents will be reported to the CBN and the police for possible punishment.
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 are among the bank CEOs.
According to Herbert Wigwe, banks have started to carry out the CBN’s orders by putting in place the necessary infrastructure, such as dedicated tellers in branches to sell foreign exchange to customers.
Given the number of bank branches, Segun Agbaje believes that banks have more than enough ability and reach to carry out the CBN’s instructions.