SEC Receives Funds from AfDB for Better Operations

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

In order to strengthen its supervisory tools as well as its capacity to achieve its mandate of investor protection and minimising systemic risk, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received financing support from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Though the amount secured from the regional lender was not disclosed, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday that the funds would be used towards the cost of regulatory capacity improvements under the risk-based supervision framework and capacity building project.

“The envisaged activities also include capacity building on prudential risk-based supervision approach including the development or update of relevant risk matrices and models for data analysis and interpretation as well as expansion of existing AML/CFT matrix.

“Capacity building in risk-based supervision will focus on enhancing SEC’s approach in carrying out its monitoring and supervisory role overall capital market operators namely fund/investment managers, conventional & commodity exchanges, stockbrokers, issuing houses (investment banks) etc,” a part of the statement made available to Business Post stated.

It was disclosed that SEC got the grant from the AfDB administered/Capital Markets Development Trust Fund, which is mainly to finance the Risk-Based Supervision Framework Implementation and Capacity Development Project.

According to the SEC, the principal objectives of the project are to provide technical assistance and capacity building on selected areas of its operations, support implementation of risk-based supervision framework, improve the securities markets regulatory environment and broadening of market instruments that will help deepen the capital markets in Nigeria and strengthen the Commission’s supervisory tools as well as its capacity to achieve its mandate of investor protection and minimising systemic risk.

For the project, the mode of procurement to be adopted is Quality and Cost Based (QCBS) and the risk-based supervision framework implementation component would involve the development of best practise risk-based supervision inspection manuals, tools and guidelines for the market.