The Securities and Exchange Commission says the current reorganisation of its operations is aimed at building a better commission and further drive efficiency.
SEC said this in a letter to capital market operators, which was posted on its website.
The commission said it had relocated its inspectorate division to the commission’s Lagos zonal office, which it noted, was targeted at ensuring a successful implementation of risk-based supervision model and regulation of systematically important financial institutions in the capital market.
SEC said it had considered the need to have enhanced regulatory supervision of all registered capital market operators, which available record indicated that more than 90 per cent of the operators were based in Lagos.
It said, “In line with this, the inspectorate division of the commission’s monitoring department has been moved to Lagos zonal office but some members of staff will be retained at the head office (in Abuja) to handle some operators from the northern part of the country.
“This is aimed at ensuring that the CMOs maintain healthy financial situation and comply with rules and regulations guiding the conduct of their respective operations.”
The commission also relocated its registration division to the Lagos zonal office, saying there was no doubt that its revamped registration process had ensured the admission of only persons with excellent credentials to the market.
In a bid to leverage this revamped process and reduce huge financial burden being born by the CMOs on filing of registration documents or attending registration meetings in Abuja, the commission said it had decided to relocate the registration division from its headquarters to the Lagos zonal office.
It added that a unit to cater for operators domiciled in the northern part of the country would reside at the head office, Abuja.
“This relocation would not only reduce the cost of conducting the registration exercise, but also efficiently position the commission to remain innovative on its registration processes,” SEC said.
The commission also merged the fund management division (investment management department) with the inspectorate division (monitoring department).
The inspectorate and fund management divisions of the commission perform similar functions of monitoring market operators. While the fund management division monitors the activities of registered fund managers, the inspectorate division supervises other categories of the CMOs.
To fully optimise the benefits of the risk-based supervisory model, SEC said both divisions had been merged and would carry the assigned responsibilities under the inspectorate division of the Lagos zonal office.
The reorganisation, according to SEC, became effective on January 16, 2017.
