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CBN, SEC to collaborate for stronger financial sector regulation

By BusinessNews Staff on February 24, 2015

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have agreed to collaborate more for stronger regulation of the capital market in particular and the Nigerian financial system in general.

The acting Director General of SEC, Mounir Gwarzo and the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, CBN, Dr. Okwu Joseph Nnanna reached an accord for closer ties when Nnanna visited the management of the SEC in Abuja last week.

Market operators said the collaboration is coming at the right time in view of the decline in the price of crude oil in the international market and its impact on the Naira’s exchange rate as well as the nation’s capital market.

Gwarzo described the collaboration as timely given the difficulties being experienced in the economy at the moment. He expressed the hope that both regulators would work in tandem in finding solutions to the issues.

“You have come at the right time. We crave one-on-one collaboration with various institutions as we believe it is very important in finding solution to our economic problems as a nation. We need to collaborate on major areas beyond the platform provided by the Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC)” Gwarzo said.

He added that one of the policy thrusts of the present management of the commission was empowerment of trade groups in the capital market, which he said would enhance collaboration in resolving complaints and developing the market.

He explained that this was why the SEC reviewed its complaints management framework to enable trade groups handle complaints and resolve them, adding that this would be better for the market. He also stated that the Commission was leveraging on making it mandatory for every registered operator to belong to a trade group.

Speaking, Nnanna said he was on the visit to the commission to familiarise with the acting DG and also find ways to strengthen the financial market.

“We are here to familiarise with the new DG. There is much happening in the financial system and that is why I am here for bilateral meeting so that we can agree on a few things to revive the system particularly the capital market,” he said.

There are many areas SEC and CBN need to collaborate in order to make the capital market in particular more attractive. For instance, the area of allowing shareholders to pay dividend warrants into savings accounts is expected to help reduce the amount of unclaimed dividends.

[ThisDay]

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