Economy
See Transaction Fees Charged on NASD OTC Exchange
By Adedapo Adesanya
Like on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the trading of equities on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange attracts some certain fees charged for the completion of any transaction.
These fees are charged by the exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) and the stockbroker through which the trade is done.
To ensure transparency and uphold the integrity of the capital market, the apex regulator in the sector, SEC, has approved maximum charges these bodies can get from execution of any buy or sell transaction on the NASD.
In the template obtained by Business Post, to purchase equities on the NASD Exchange, the platform takes 0.25 percent of total value of the shares purchased by an investor. In addition, the buyer of the securities pays an extra 5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT). This amounts to a total of 0.2625 percent fees charged by NASD on the transaction.
Also, SEC is entitled to a 0.20 percent fee on the same buy transaction with no VAT charged this time.
In addition, the brokerage firm, which helps in the purchase of the equities, charges not more than 1.350 percent of the total value of the securities being purchased by the investor, with another 5 percent VAT charged. This then amounts to a total of 1.4175 percent.
What this now means is that to purchase shares on the NASD Exchange platform, you will be required to pay a total of 1.88 percent of the total value of the transaction.
To illustrate this better, if an investor buys shares worth N100,000 through a stockbroker on NASD, he would need to pay N1,880 extra as purchasing fee to the exchange, SEC and the broker, with N262.50 going to NASD, N200 to SEC and the remaining N1417.50 given to the brokerage company.
Now, to sell your shares on the NASD OTC Exchange, the transaction fee is slightly higher. Hey, before you have a heart attack, the increase is a meagre 0.01 percent.
The NASD, whose platform the trading is carried out, gets 0.25 percent of the total value of the shares to be sold with an additional 5 percent VAT, totalling 0.2625 percent.
However, SEC is exempted from any percentage when a sale order is executed. It means the commission charges no fee for selling your securities.
But the CSCS, which was left out in the buy order, charges 0.20 percent of what you are selling with an additional 5 percent VAT. In all, the agency takes 0.21 percent from the deal.
Also, just like when purchasing, the brokerage gets a total percent capped at 1.350 percent, with a 5 percent VAT which amounts to a total of 1.4175 percent.
In all, an investor is charged 1.89 percent of whatever he plans to sell on NASD by the different bodies.
This means if you want to offload N70,000 from your investment portfolio on NASD, you will need to have N1,323 deducted from the amount, with N183.75 going to NASD, N147.00 to the CSCS and N992.25 to the broker.
Note that from January 2020, VAT would be increased to 7.5 percent. In addition, brokerage fee is capped at 1.35 percent of consideration subject to a minimum charge of N500, while the NASD Alert fee is N4.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
