By Adedapo Adesanya

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, voted to hold interest rate at 27 per cent at the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

The committee members were split on whether to cut interest rates or keep them unchanged when they met in November, but the central bank chief broke the ice with a hold vote.

Minutes of the MPC meeting held on November 25 revealed a split vote across the 11 members, with five members supporting a hold at 27 per cent and five members favouring a rate cut. One member abstained.

Mr Cardoso, as the 12th man and chairman of the committee, said holding rates was a deliberate signal to reinforce macroeconomic stability and acknowledge that the current monetary policy stance was beginning to deliver the intended outcomes.

It had been widely expected that the MPC would cut the rate after headline inflation declined for the seventh consecutive month to 16.05 per cent in October 2025, down from 18.02 per cent in September, at the time.

“In my view, holding is a clear signal of reinforcing stability and acknowledgement that the current policy stance is having the desired effect,” Mr Cardoso said.

The committee also retained the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for deposit money banks at 45 per cent, merchant banks at 16 per cent and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits, while the liquidity ratio was kept at 30 per cent.

Mr Cardoso noted that the improved anchoring of overnight market rates within the standing facilities corridor demonstrated stronger transmission of monetary policy to the wholesale market, describing this development as a positive outcome.

According to him, the effective transmission of policy provided room for further technical adjustments to the corridor in response to evolving liquidity conditions and sustained price action in the benchmark government securities market.

He added that the proposed asymmetric adjustment of the monetary policy corridor widening the floor while keeping the ceiling tight was designed to absorb persistent excess liquidity without undermining the Central Bank’s control over short-term interest rates.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell further by 0.14 per cent on Wednesday, January 21, remaining in the danger zone for the third straight day.

This reduced the market capitalisation of the platform by N3.13 billion to N2.184 trillion from the N2.187 trillion it finished a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) lost 5.23 points to 3,651.13 points from 3,656.36 points.

Yesterday, two securities depreciated, with FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc shrinking by N2.96 to sell at N69.04 per share compared with the previous day’s N72.00 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dropped 96 Kobo to close at N40.47 per unit versus Tuesday’s closing price of N41.43 per unit.

During the session, there were five price gainers led by Food Concepts Plc as it chalked up 25 Kobo to sell at N3.00 per share versus the preceding session’s N2.75 per share, IPWA Plc went up by 18 Kobo to end at N1.97 per unit versus N1.79 per unit, Ge0-Fluids Plc improved by 6 Kobo to trade at N7.06 per share compared with Tuesday’s closing price of N7.00 per share, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc expanded by 6 Kobo to sell at 69 Kobo per unit versus 63 Kobo per unit, and Mass Telecom Innovation Plc added 4 Kobo it previous traded value of 40 Kobo per share to end at 44 Kobo per share.

Business Post reports that the total value of transactions jumped by 74.9 per cent in the midweek session to N75.7 million from N43.3 million, the volume of transactions went up by 71.9 per cent to 4.5 million units from 2.6 million units, and the total number of deals appreciated 40 per cent to 42 deals from 30 deals.

CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.4 million units traded for N217.2 million, followed by MRS Oil Plc with 278,971 units valued at N55.7 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 7.7 million units worth N52.2 million.

Geo-Fluids Plc ended the session as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 7.7 million units sold for N52.2 million, followed by CSCS Plc with 5.4 million units transacted for N217.2 million, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 3.1 million units worth N1.9 million.

By Dipo Olowookere

An underwriting firm, Guinea Insurance Plc, has submitted application for approval and listing of its proposed N5.8 billion rights issue.

Business Post reports that the application was filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by the insurer through its stockbrokers, Forte Financial Limited, and Mega Equities Limited.

Guinea Insurance is offering in the exercise a total of 5,295,200,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N1.10 per share on the basis of two new ordinary shares for every three existing ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.

In a statement yesterday, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the stock exchange, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, confirmed the development.

He said, “Guinea Insurance Plc has through its stockbrokers, Forte Financial Limited and Mega Equities Limited, submitted an application to Nigerian Exchange Limited for the approval and listing of a rights issue of 5,295,200,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N1.10 per share on the basis of two new ordinary shares for every three existing ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.

“The qualification date for the rights issue is Wednesday, January 21, 2026.”

At the market at midweek, the shares of Guinea Insurance closed flat at N1.30 per unit, with a total of 2,313,400.00 units transacted by investors during the session.

Last month, the organisation held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), where shareholders authorised the board to “raise additional equity capital of up to N15.0 billion by way of rights issue and private placement, on such terms, pricing, allotment structure, and timetable as the board of directors may determine in the best interest of the company.”

This was after they passed a resolution for the firm’s minimum issued share capital be increased “from N4.0 billion made up of 8.0 billion ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each to N19.0 billion made of 38.0 billion ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.