. Strategises to check cybersecurity risks
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has disclosed that the N170 billion unclaimed dividends are now being managed under a new Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund (UDTF) by the Commission and the Debt Management Office (DMO).
At a virtual post-Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting held in Lagos at the weekend, the SEC Director-General, Lamido Yuguda, said the monies, which accrued as at December 2020, would be released to the owners or beneficiaries with proof of ownership.
Yuguda also said information on the unclaimed dividend can now be generated from both the SEC and DMO.
“Unclaimed dividend has gone into the unclaimed dividend trust fund and is now managed by the SEC and DMO. SEC is no more the only institution that has data for unclaimed dividends.
“It will remain there until the owners come forward to claim them. We still have cases of multiple subscriptions but we are working very hard on solutions to tackle them especially in the area of unclaimed dividends,” he said.
However, investors in the capital market are miffed by the decision, describing it as a disincentive to investment. This is particularly so as previous trust funds were marred by corruption.
As a result, they urged that the funds be returned to the companies that generated them and be redeployed for working capital to enhance efficiency and profitability.
It will remain there until the owners come forward to claim them. We still have cases of multiple subscriptions but we are working very hard on solutions to tackle them especially in the area of unclaimed dividends.
Checking cyber threats
The Trust Fund comes as the Commission it is working in collaboration with other agencies to develop strategies to tackle potential cyber security threats on the Nigerian capital market.
The Director-General, SEC, Lamido Yuguda, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists on the outcome of the first Capital Market Committee (CMC) Meeting for the year.
For over two decades, the CMC has served as a platform for capital market stakeholders to discuss issues germane to the development and orderly conduct of market activities.
Yuguda recalled that during the last CMC in 2021, Colonel Bala Fakandu of the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) sensitized members on the implementation of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy for the finance and capital market sector.
He said: “The issue of cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important globally. Many of our activities as individuals and organizations are now conducted digitally more than ever before.
“While this has significantly raised our efficiency level, it has triggered a new set of risks which we must recognize and guard against. We are working towards a sectoral strategy for tackling these risks.”
Yuguda said the Commission will continue to enhance the current regulatory framework guiding market operations by keeping pace with evolving changes in practices, especially with the advent of financial technology (FinTech), which has significantly altered the ways and means of transacting business in the sector.
He also disclosed that SEC has successfully concluded the extensive review of the ISA 2007 with the aim of passing the Investment and Securities Bill (ISB) 2021 into law this year.
“In conjunction with the National Assembly (NASS) committees on capital market, the Commission organised a retreat to review the entire Bill. We sincerely appreciate the support received from both the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on capital market during the review exercise,” he said.
