Economy
Online Trading Portal: SEC Approves New Rules for Stockbrokers
By Dipo Olowookere
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the new rules drafted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to guide the establishment and usage of online trading portals by stockbroking companies operating in the nation’s capital market.
A notice released to the investing public at the weekend stated that the new rules were approved by SEC, the apex capital market regulator in the country, in August 2019.
Business Post gathered that under the new guidelines, operators intending to set up an online trading portal must get a dedicated and secure network connection alongside an Order Management System (OMS) approved by the exchange.
The new rules stipulated that no brokerage firms must operate an online trading portal without subjecting it to Vulnerability Assessment Penetration Testing (VAPT) by an authorized, credible Information Security company (VAPT Assessor) on a regular basis and in any event not less than twice every year.
It was noted that for existing online trading portal, the operators must within three months of the effective date confirm that it has procured a dedicated and secure network connection, and an approved OMS.
“Applications used by clients to access the OMS shall be protected by the requirement of strong passwords, strong authentication in line with industry standards, optimized for performance and regular security testing,” one of the guidelines said.
It was further stated that stockbrokers must conduct a comprehensive Know Your Client (KYC)exercise on all clients registered through the online trading portal before an online trading account is activated and before any transaction is carried out by clients on the portal. The dealing member shall keep the KYC records and any related records for a minimum period of six years.
The NSE further said to operating an online trading platform, stockbrokers must put in place at least two factor authentication, encryption, secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), extended validation, policies and procedures to mitigate and guard their online trading portals from fraud, cyber-crime and other risks to the firm and its clients and other security standards as the NSE may prescribe from time to time.
The NSE said it would want all trading activities on the online trading portal be duly monitored and supervised by an authorized clerk employed by the brokerage company.
However, stockbrokers must disclose to their clients, via their online trading portals, and on their account opening forms, the risks associated with using the online trading portal.
They are not required to share commissions from trade transactions effected via the online trading portal except with other dealing members and such other registered market operators as the NSE may from time to time specify.
They must clearly display on the online trading portal all fees and charges (if any) associated with the usage of the online trading portal, as well as the details for customer service and the complaints management procedure.
They would be expected to take all reasonable precaution to ensure the availability, integrity, confidentiality and security of transmission of financial information to and from clients and as well exercise care in determining clients’ financial sophistication and suitability for particular investments recommended by the dealing member.
Under the new rules, stockbrokers are empowered to suspend or close a client’s account where it has been established that such account is being used for fraudulent transactions, money laundering, market abuse, and any other illegal purpose and notify the NSE of such account suspension or closure within 24 hours of the action.
However, it was stressed that “Any dealing member firm that contravenes any of the online trading portal rules shall be liable to pay a fine of not less than N250,000 and such other penalties as may be prescribed from time to time by the NSE.
View the full guidelines HERE
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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Trading Account Types Offered by Headway
Headway broker understands that every trader enters the market with a different level of experience:
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Conclusion
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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.
