The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has called for the adoption of technology in every stage of the recapitalisation of the banks.
This formed highlights of the recommendations made by the institute to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and capital market regulators.
In a paper entitled: Stockbrokers’ Position Paper on the Banking Sector Recapitalisation Programme of the CBN’, released as a prelude to the forth-coming investiture of the 13th President and Chairman of the Governing Council of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Oluropo Dada, the institute noted that the path of reaching out to investors through mobile apps is what endears the young generation to modern-day investments as witnessed in recent public offerings.
According to the institute, the recapitalisation exercise would position the banks to support the growth of the economy, position it for global competitiveness and promote financial inclusion.
“Banks should consider raising a significant portion of the additional capital through public offers to increase the number of investors in the market. “It is sad that, in a country of over 200 million people we still have just about 7 million people that have investments in the capital market. So, attracting more new investors should be a key objective of the exercise.
“It is important to emphasise that time is of the essence in the recapitalisation process. We recognise the fact that the CBN will have to check and verify the list of subscribers to every new bank issue before the list is sent to the SEC for approval to allot shares,” it said.
The CIS suggested that the CBN should carry out this verification process speedily, using technology to reduce the time involved.
Also, it noted that the issuing houses may send the list of subscribers to the CBN in batches, on a daily or weekly basis, from the date the issue opens until it closes.
According to the institute, the load of verification will be substantially reduced for the CBN with the deployment of technology when the offer closes and returns are made
“Between the CBN and the SEC, the time taken from an offer’s closing date to the allotment date should not exceed 20 working days. This assurance is important as investors do not want their monies to sit idle for an extended period,” it stated.
