By Dipo Olowookere
The board of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of First Bank Nigeria Limited, has announced the commencement of a closed period from Thursday, 03 October 2019 (today).
A closed period is a time directors and other top employees of a company are prohibited from trading in its shares at the stock market because of sensitive information about the firm they have, which they might use to tinker with the value of the stock.
The flouting of this rule, which is also known as insider trading, is a serious violation, which in the past has made the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to wield its big stick on the violators.
In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), FBN Holdings said its closed period is starting today till 24 hours after its third quarter results are released to the investing public.
“There will be a closed period from Thursday, October 3, 2019 till 24 hours after the accounts are filed with the exchange, in line with 17.18 of Part 2 (Issuer’s Rules) of the NSE Rule Book (2015),” the lender said.
Meanwhile, FBN Holdings, in the disclosure, said its board would be having a crucial meeting to consider the Q3 earnings of the company on Friday, October 18, 2019.
“This is to inform the public and our stakeholders that the board of directors of FBN Holdings Plc will be meeting to consider the unaudited financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2019 on Friday, October 18, 2019,” the statement said.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale