Economy
Fidelity Bank, Skye Bank, Unity Bank, Others Risk Sanctions
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Not less than 28 companies trading their shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) risk being sanctioned by the regulator for failing to meet post-listing requirements, timely release of operational reports and financial statements.
According to The Nation, the firms include three commercial banks, a microfinance bank, three mortgage bankers, five insurance companies, one investment management firm and 15 other firms in various non-financial sectors.
The defaulting firms include Unity Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Fortis Microfinance Bank Plc, Staco Insurance Plc, African Alliance Insurance Plc, Goldlink Insurance Plc, UNIC Insurance Plc, International Energy Insurance, Aso Savings & Loans Plc, Resort Savings & Loans, Union Homes Savings & Loans Plc, and Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc.
Others include R.T Briscoe Plc, Smart Products Nigeria Plc, Afromedia Plc, Roads Nigeria Plc, Nigerian German Chemical Plc, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc, Golden Guinea Breweries Plc, Anino International Plc, Juli Plc, Ekocorp Plc, Union Dicon Salt Plc, FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, Evans Medical Plc, Omatek Ventures Plc and Dn Tyre & Rubber Plc.
The companies failed to submit their interim report and accounts for the period ended June 30, 2018. Such default is marked out by the Exchange as a corporate governance failure, which attracts monetary fines, “naming and shaming” tag, suspension of shares from trading and delisting in incurable cases of default.
It was gathered that 20 of the firms missed the regulatory deadline of July 30, while Fidelity Bank, which audits its half-year results, missed the August 29 deadline.
Under the rules, a late submission attracts a fine of N100,000 daily for the first 90 calendar days of non-compliance, another N200,000 per day for the next 90 calendar days and a fine of N400,000 per day thereafter until the date of submission.
With these, late submission under the first instance of 90 days could attract N9 million, the additional 90 days will attract N18 million while such delay beyond the first 180 days to the next 180 days could attract as much as N72 million, bringing fines payable by a defaulting company within a year to N99 million.
The list of sanctions shows fines ranging from a low of N0.1 million to as high as N51.4 million. Companies had been fined more than N400 million and N500 million in 2016 and 2017 respectively for failure to submit accounts within scheduled periods.
There are 15 companies currently under suspension for failure to meet scheduled submission of financial statements. Forty one monetary fines have so far been placed on companies in 2018, more than 38 monetary fines slammed on companies in 2017.
The monetary fines become almost automatic after the expiration of the deadline. According to the rules, notwithstanding that a company takes the required steps during the cure periods or later complies with the provisions of the rules, any company that defaults in filing its accounts within the stipulated periods shall be liable to pay the applicable penalties, except the affected company had received waiver or extension of time by the Exchange.
Under the rules, quoted companies are required to file their unaudited quarterly accounts with the NSE not later than 30 calendar days after the relevant quarter. Where the company chooses to audit its quarterly accounts, it is required to file such accounts not later than 60 calendar days after the relevant quarter. For annual audited accounts, companies are required to file their audited annual report and accounts with the Exchange not later than 90 calendar days after the relevant year end.
In addition to the monetary fines, a defaulting company will be tagged with the “Below Listing Standard” (BLS) or any other sign or expression to indicate that the company has failed to submit its accounts within the stipulated period and this tag shall remain for as long as the company fails to file its accounts.
Where a company fails to file its accounts after the expiration of the first 90 days, the NSE will send such a company a “second filing deficiency notification” within two business days after the end of the first 90 days.
In addition, the Exchange will suspend trading in the company’s shares and notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the market within 24 hours of the suspension.
Where a company fails to also file its accounts after the second additional period of 90 days, bringing the default days to 180, days, the Exchange may take further appropriate actions including cautioning shareholders that the company’s listing is under threat of delisting and eventual delisting.
The rules also empower the Exchange to delist a company within the first 90 days where the NSE determines that granting extended period is not necessary, especially where there are proven issues of financial fraud, gross corporate governance abuses and other illegalities.
In a more rigorous naming and shaming practice, a defaulting company is expected to within three business days of receipt of the second filing deficiency notification and suspension of trading in its securities, to inform the Exchange in writing of the status of the accounts, and issue a press release, of not less than half a page, in at least two national daily newspapers, with the company’s web address indicated in the newspaper publication, and posted on the company’s website disclosing the status of the relevant accounts, reason for the delay in submission, and the anticipated filing date. An electronic copy of the publication shall be filed with the Exchange on the same day as the publication. The suspension of trading in the company’s shares shall only be lifted upon submission of the relevant accounts in line with the requirements of the NSE.
According to the report, the stock market regulatory agency plans to “apply relevant rules” in dealing with the defaulters.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
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