Economy
It’s Illegal for Fund Managers to Hold Clients’ Funds, Securities—SEC
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Fund managers have been warned against holding clients’ funds and securities as this act is illegal and in violation of the Consolidated Rule 95 (1-2) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, while addressing reporters after the last Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting of the year, said any fund manager found doing this would be made to face the full wrath of the apex regulator in the Nigerian capital market.
At the meeting held in Lagos over the weekend, he reminded fund managers that all funds and securities of clients being managed by their firms must be vested with the custodians.
He also drew their attention to issues that arose from the commission’s recently concluded inspection of fund/portfolio management operations whereby several fund managers managing discretionary and non-discretionary products and portfolios were yet to seek a No Objection of their products and portfolios from the agency, which is a violation of its rules.
The SEC DG disclosed that the meeting also emphasized the increasing importance of fintech, sustainable finance, financial inclusion and non-interest finance, adding that the executive management team of the SEC reiterated its commitment to continue creating awareness, imparting knowledge and engendering public participation in these topical areas.
Speaking further on the outcome of the meeting, Mr Yuguda said, “The market community was reminded of the annual renewal of registration of Capital Market Operators, which is aimed at ensuring that only fit and proper persons operate in the Nigerian capital market. The portal for renewal of registration for the year 2023 will open on January 1, 2023, and close on January 31, 2023.
“Members received updates from the Commodities Ecosystem Implementation Committee that significant efforts were being made on transitioning the commodities market from spot-based operations to trading in commodity derivatives;
“Furthermore, the Commodities Ecosystem Implementation Committee informed members that it held engagements with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), on the issue of traceability of commodities, which is considered a key building block for Nigerian export promotion.”
Mr Yuguda announced that the e-dividend committee notified members of efforts to rebuild the e-Dividend Management Mandate System (e-DMMS) platform.
This, he said, involves having a centralized submission of E-dividend mandate forms, an Application Programming Interface (API) for Banks and Registrars, and a revamped web interface, among others.
He expressed appreciation over the recent intervention of the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions on unclaimed dividends, saying, “the committee is investigating the rising value of unclaimed dividends and unremitted withholding tax on dividends.
“The commission is ready to provide all the necessary support to the committee to enable it to carry out its assignment,” he stated.
“Members of the CMC were reminded to collectively work towards the enactment of the Investments and Securities Bill 2022, which will enhance the performance of the Nigerian Capital Market and align it with global best practices. The Bill seeks to improve the legal and regulatory framework that will accommodate the dynamics of the Market.
“The meeting emphasized the increasing importance of Fintech, Sustainable Finance, Financial Inclusion and Non-Interest Finance. The Executive Management team of the SEC reiterated its commitment to continue creating awareness, imparting knowledge and engendering public participation in these topical areas.
“The Financial Literacy Technical Committee informed members that it made substantial progress on introducing capital market studies (CMS) to secondary and tertiary institutions. It made appealed to the CMC to support its activities financially,” he added.
The DG added that Capital Market Operators were informed of the approval granted by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning on Non-Interest Finance (taxation) regulation, which has already been gazetted.
“This has important implications for the market towards encouraging new issuances of Non-Interest Capital Market products and services. It is expected that Issuers and Market Operators will take advantage of this by creating more non-interest finance products,” he further said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite signs that Nigeria’s headline inflation is easing, rising food prices continue to threaten the country’s inflation outlook, the chief executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Mr Muda Yusuf, has warned.
He noted that structural inflationary pressures in the real economy remain pronounced despite improving macroeconomic stability.
In a policy brief released following the inflation report, he noted that headline inflation eased marginally, while month-on-month change moderated from 1.75 per cent to 1.66 per cent, indicating that headline inflation has largely plateaued.
According to him, the dominant concern in the latest inflation report is the renewed acceleration in food inflation.
This growth, he said, suggested that food prices have resumed an upward trajectory after a brief period of moderation.
Warning that a renewed increase in food inflation has significant economic and social implications, he stressed that food inflation remained the biggest driver of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis, stressing that rising food prices continue to erode household purchasing power, worsen poverty and food insecurity while weakening the inclusiveness of the current reform programme.
He maintained that sustained moderation in food prices is critical to improving citizens’ welfare and strengthening public confidence in the ongoing economic reforms.
Acknowledging the easing of core inflation as encouraging, he drew attention to the persistence of urban inflation.
At 16.08 per cent, urban inflation exceeded the national headline inflation rate of 15.91 per cent, while month-on-month urban inflation increased from 1.99 per cent to 2.13 per cent.
According to Mr Yusuf, the figures indicated that inflationary pressures remained particularly intense across urban centres.
He attributed the rising urban inflation partly to increasing population displacement from rural communities affected by insecurity, expressing worry that as more households migrate to urban areas, demand for housing, transportation, utilities and other essential services would increase, adding to inflationary pressures and creating additional urbanisation challenges.
Addressing insecurity in farming communities, he said, was important not only for protecting lives and property and boosting agricultural output but also for easing cost pressures in urban centres, adding that the June CPI data reinforced the view that Nigeria’s inflation challenge is predominantly structural rather than monetary.
On the monetary policy outlook, he said the data do not justify further monetary tightening, arguing that headline inflation has largely stabilised.
The CPPE chief expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to retain the current monetary policy rate at its next meeting, adding that the priority is for monetary and fiscal authorities to work together to accelerate structural reforms to expand food supply, improve logistics, reduce energy and production costs, lower debt service costs, as well as strengthen domestic value chains.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Additional shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The new equities were added to the company’s existing stocks on Customs Street on Thursday, July 16, 2026, a notice from the bourse confirmed.
Business Post reports the total new ordinary shares of Sterling Holdings listed yesterday were 13,812,239,000 units.
They were from the offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each sold for N7.00 per share, which was oversubscribed by investors.
The financial institution brought the new shares to the stock exchange to increase its total issued and fully paid-up shares to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 52,117,012,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 13,812,239,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc were on Thursday, July 16, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N7.00 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have now increased from 52,117,012,414 to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the notice read.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has signed a Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets across government agencies as Nigeria seeks to curb fraud while supporting innovation in the digital economy.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to harmonise oversight of cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets, stablecoins, and other digital assets without creating a new regulator.
As part of the new framework, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products, blockchain solutions, and related services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced to the wider market.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
According to the presidency, the Executive Order responds to the growing complexity of virtual assets, which increasingly cut across the traditional boundaries of currencies, securities, commodities, and payment systems.
The fragmented regulatory environment has left gaps that have exposed Nigeria to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses.
The government said some unregistered operators have exploited these regulatory gaps to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians, resulting in significant financial losses.
“The Order is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies,” the statement read.
Under the new framework, the Virtual Asset Council will be chaired by the CBN, with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice chairs. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide policy direction, improve cooperation among participating agencies, and work with the Attorney General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The office will be domiciled at the CBN and will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among the participating agencies through a shared supervisory technology platform.
The presidency stressed that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies, clarifying that instead, each institution will continue to exercise its existing mandate while working within a coordinated framework.
Under the arrangement, registration of virtual asset businesses will depend on the nature of the service being offered.
Activities classified as securities will continue to be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and other services involving non-security virtual assets will fall under the CBN.
Where there is uncertainty over regulatory jurisdiction, the Virtual Asset Council will determine the appropriate supervising agency.
“The sandbox will provide a controlled environment in which eligible operators can test and operate virtual asset products, services, and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision, enabling the participating agencies to assess the implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue administration before products reach the wider market,” the statement added.
According to the presidency, the sandbox will enable regulators to evaluate the implications of emerging products for financial stability, monetary sovereignty, consumer protection, financial inclusion, market integrity, and revenue administration.
The central bank is expected to announce further details of the sandbox.
