The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has given a three-month ultimatum to 4,173 Bureau De Change (BDC) companies to change their registered names. This directive follows the recent revocation of their licenses by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In a notice issued on Wednesday, the CAC emphasized that failing to comply with this directive would lead to the cancellation of the affected companies’ certificates of incorporation and their subsequent dissolution.
The notice read, “Following the revocation of the operational licenses of 4,173 Bureau De Change companies by the Central Bank of Nigeria vide a Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (Vol. 111) No. 37 of February 2024 for non-compliance with Regulatory Standards, the Corporate Affairs Commission, in exercise of its powers under section 8(1)(e) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 advises these companies to within three months from the date of this publication, change names and objects. Failure to change the names and objects within the stipulated time frame shall result in cancellation of certificate of incorporation and dissolution. It is to be noted that it is unlawful for a company whose certificate has been deemed dissolved to carry on business.”
The CBN initially revoked the licenses in March 2024 due to the BDCs’ non-compliance with regulatory standards. Further, in May 2024, the CBN mandated all BDC operators to re-apply for licenses with increased minimum capital requirements, setting N2 billion for tier-1 licenses and N500 billion for tier-2 licenses.
