By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that it has continued to employ its compliance tool to ensure that only fit and proper capital market operators practice in the market.
This, the commission said, has resulted in an improved level of compliance with the filing of prudential returns, rising to 96 per cent in 2022 compared with 81 per cent in 2021.
The Director-General of the agency, Mr Lamido Yuguda, described this in an interview as a welcome development, given the organisation’s quest to pursue a capital market that is based on the principles of increased transparency, efficiency and global competitiveness.
He described the year 2022 as another eventful year in which the commission continued its implementation of sound initiatives that are expected to bring about the much-desired market development that would deepen not only the market but also ensure the continued protection of investors.
“SEC released guidelines on the implementation of Sections 60-63 of the Investments and Securities Act 2007.
“The NCMI organized training for CEOs, CFOs and other officers of public companies to facilitate their compliance. The Commission also provided filing options for Audited (Annual) and Fourth Quarter Financial Statements.
“The commission has conducted the Risk Based Supervision (RBS) examination on 20 capital market subsidiaries of five financial holding companies aimed at supporting the entire financial system stability.
“To further protect investors and boost confidence in the market, the commission has commenced implementation of 100 per cent custody requirement on all Collective Investment Schemes (CIS).
“Also, after a thorough review of the status of privately managed funds, SEC mandated that Rule 95 should also apply to all Discretionary/Non-Discretionary Portfolios and Products to ensure the protection of investors’ funds in the fund management space,” Mr Yuguda stated.
The SEC DG disclosed that a comprehensive on-site inspection exercise was successfully carried out on the 95 registered fund managers to ensure that both the public and private funds registered by the commission are being operated in line with the relevant rules and regulations.
On non-interest, Mr Yuguda stated that the commission, working jointly with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Non-Interest Finance Committee of the CMC and other stakeholders, has developed a taxation regulation on non-interest finance.
The non-interest finance (taxation) regulation, he stated, has been approved by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and has already been gazetted. This is a positive development that will spur investments in non-interest capital market products.
He disclosed that the Nigerian capital market witnessed significant momentum, with the main equity bourse (NGX) recording a N6.1 trillion increase in the equities capitalisation, from N21.82 trillion on December 31, 2021, to N27.96 trillion as of December 30, 2022, representing a 28 per cent increase, outshining most of the global securities markets.
The NGX All-Share Index also recorded a 19.98 per cent year-on-year growth from 42,716.44 points on December 31, 2021, to 51,251.06 points as of December 30, 2022.
“On the debt side of the capital market, the S&P FMDQ Sovereign Bond Index closed at 592.84 points on December 14, 2022, indicating a 4.8 per cent increase from 565.67 points in December 2021.
“The market witnessed this despite relatively weak corporate earnings, investor apathy and slow economic growth.
“However, we expect to see enhanced growth in 2023 driven by initiatives that target improvement in the business environment, increased liquidity, and a possible increase in sovereign bond issuances to finance the budget deficit,” he remarked.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Dipo Olowookere