- The Securities and Exchange Commission has assured of transparency and fairness in fintech regulation
- The SEC said it aims to expand the space to include more individuals and categories of institutions
- It called for stakeholders’ collaboration to achieve a bigger ecosystem
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has assured stakeholders in the fintech space that it is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in the regulation of the space.
Director-General of the SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, gave the assurance during a meeting with applicants for the Regulatory Incubation and Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, on Monday, December 23.
Agama noted that the process of registration, which is the hallmark of registration, is technical and involves continuous monitoring, education and surveillance.
He said, “The process of registration is a very technical process because registration is the hallmark of regulation. It goes beyond onboarding and registering, it requires monitoring, education, and surveillance, and all of these are continuous. This journey is a new one that we have not gone through before. As we continue, we will find challenges which we need to solve because every challenge is solvable.
“I am here to assuage fears being exhibited. We have provided a level playing field but as a government institution we must take things into context while doing this.
“The groups that were admitted into the ARIP and RI are beginning to see that we have started demanding for some information, operational updates and more regulatory requirements in line with the concept of a Regulation Incubation Programme or a Sandbox as some other institutions call it.
“In doing this, we are understudying what they are doing and the risk that they pose to investors and to themselves.
“We have not only done that, we have also issued new regulations to the public, which we call an exposure document. If you look at it, it is an upgraded version of our earlier regulations and the regulation making process demands that we get your views as stakeholders before it becomes a regulation.”
Agama says SEC envisions an expanded space
The SEC DG further disclosed that the commission is committed to inclusion, which underscores the expansion of the space to include more regulations to accommodate more individuals, more institutions, and more functions.
This has led to the listing of cryptocurrency and digital token assets on the Nigeria Exchange (NGX) and its approval for the listing of tech startups on the Nigerian Exchange Technology Board, which is a specialised listing and capital-raising platform for technology-based businesses.
He said, “We are trying to ensure that at the end of the day, as a country we will stand out in the regulation of this space. Beyond any doubt, this space is the future and for us as Nigerians we have embraced it.
“With the population we have with over 70 per cent interested in this space, we must live up to the billing but we must do it intellectually and that is why we are engaging you.”
Need for stakeholder collaboration
Agama also stressed the need for greater collaboration among stakeholders in the space to protect investors’ interests, attract international partners, and create a formidable ecosystem.
He said, “We are all on this journey together and we all must succeed in the journey. I have always encouraged participants to come together and collaborate so that the result will be what we are all proud of.
“As an ecosystem, we all have a responsibility of building an ecosystem that we all will remain proud of. We remain excited about the boundless opportunities that exist. International partners can only come into the local space if we get this right.
“In the coming year, we will move faster in delivery and announcements haven learnt from this process. A new law has been passed and is in the process of obtaining the Presidential assent. That law is replete with all of the ingredients legally required to properly regulate this space and give guidance to operators. All of these are efforts by the SEC to be as friendly as possible, protect the interest of the ecosystem and the interest of investors.
“As we try to build this system, we are building a new economy that will be beneficial to all and we cannot toil with that opportunity. If we miss it, international partners will not come, but if we make it, we will be a darling of the world.”
SEC directs publicly listed companies to publish financial statements online
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) directed all publicly listed companies to publish their financial statements on their official websites effective January 2025.
In a circular issued on Thursday, December 19, the SEC said companies’ omission of publishing their financial statements online is a contravention of the commission’s rules and regulations, warning that non-compliance with the directive would attract sanctions.
