Six dealing members are to appear before the Disciplinary Committee of the National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange this week for having inactive licences.

A notice by the Exchange said the affected dealing members were expected to appear before the disciplinary committee on Thursday, May 15, “for a hearing in respect of their failure to activate their dealing member licenses.”

The affected companies include Al-Pina Investment and Trust Company Limited, BBL Asset Management Limited and Integrated and Allied Securities Limited.

Others are MultiTrust Securities Limited (Ogun Branch Licence), Standard Chartered Securities Limited and Trans Lux Services Limited (Ogun Branch Licence).

The licences of all six dealing members, according to the Exchange, have been inactive since they were issued.

The NSE explained in the notice by its Head, Legal Department and Council Secretariat, Irene Robinson-Ayanwale, that the firms had been given time to address the issue before now.

It warned that the failure of any of the affected firms to honor the invitation would not prevent the hearings from proceeding, adding that the committee would also go ahead to take appropriate action on the matter.

The Exchange directed each of the affected firms to send documents relevant to their defence to it before noon on Wednesday, May 14.

It said, “It should be noted that the Nigerian Stock Exchange on December 5, 2013 published on its website a market bulletin titled, ‘Regularisation of Dealing Member Status’, directing the aforementioned dealing members to address this issue.

“Any documents the aforementioned dealing members wish to rely on during the hearing should be sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange by noon on Wednesday, May 14, 2014.

“Note that in the event of failure to honour this invitation, the disciplinary committee shall proceed with the hearing and make such decisions and issue such directives as it deems fit.”

According to a source with knowledge about the workings of the NSE, the affected companies risk having their licences withdrawn should they fail to provide the committee with credible reasons for their failure to activate the licenses.

Over the last few years, the Exchange had taken a tougher stand on market infractions as it seeks better governance and transparency in order to reposition itself as the gateway to African markets.

In January, the Exchange said that in carrying out its regulatory oversight in 2013, it handed out fines worth N104.7m to both quoted companies and market operators.

The Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, who said the figures showed that the Exchange was taking infractions seriously, however, explained that it was not just out to sanction companies. Rather, he said the Exchange was also working to help companies and operators to overcome challenges, which may prevent them from complying with guidelines.

Source: Punch (by Simon Ejembi)