Economy
We Won’t Tolerate Infractions from Stockbrokers—SEC
By Dipo Olowookere
Acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, has warned newly qualified authorised dealing clerks of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to abide by the highest principled standard expected in their profession.
On Monday, July 15, 2019, a total of 46 new stockbrokers were inducted after going through rigorous trainings at the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Ms Uduk, while addressing the new stockbrokers at their induction ceremony in Lagos recently, said they must always maintain the integrity of their profession and imbibe culture of compliance to rules and regulations and transparency as they carry out their activities in the market.
According to her, SEC does not tolerate infractions as steps are being taken to ensure that regulatory oversight was more effective, investor protection advanced, and systemic risk mitigated.
Head of Corporate Communications at SEC, Efe Ebelo, said in a statement that Mrs Uduk tasked the new stockbroking professionals to be “determined to bring positive changes into the market as you launch your careers and challenge the status quo in the areas of capacity building and innovativeness, while bringing fresh and innovative ideas into product development, as well as efficiency in service delivery to the investors.”
“We at the SEC are conscious of our dual mandates of regulating and developing the Nigerian capital market for the continued and consistent growth of the Nigerian economy, which is why we have been pushing the initiatives that include the E-dividend Management Mandate System, Direct Cash Settlement and Multiple Application Regularisation Initiatives, so as to properly educate your clients and increase the level of awareness in our market.”
Represented at the event by the Director of Lagos Zonal Office at SEC, Mr Stephen Falomo, the acting DG told the inductees that, “This ceremony marks the final point at which the inductees become full-fledged dealing members of the NSE, a position of great trust; because now you will be handling investments for individual and corporate investors and this you must do with utmost care and highest standards of integrity and ethical practice to forestall any breach of trust.”
She said the use of ICT has been fully integrated into financial services and as such financial technology (Fintech) and regulatory technology (Regtech) are trending, having been embraced by both the operators and the investors as ways to further enhance the growth and expansion of business in addition to regulatory and compliance issues, urging the newly inducted members to ensure that they all get grounded on the relevant technological advancement necessary to ensure that they can cope with the pace in today’s market, while staying ahead of perpetrators of cyber-crimes, who may attempt to compromise the market.
Ms Uduk acknowledged the roles of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and the NSE for their “unyielding commitment to ensuring the continued growth of the market by producing young, dynamic and professional stockbrokers, who are admitted as authorized dealing clerks.”
She expressed the hope that NSE and CIS would keep on innovating for the benefit of the market and investors alike, as a means of deepening the capital market and positioning it as a catalyst for economic growth and development of the country, saying “as you all know, continuous capacity building in our financial market is a very important part of the capital market development.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
