Bankers committee endorses over the counter regulations

The Bankers Committee has endorsed regulations for Over-the-Counter transactions.
The Managing Director, Access Bank, Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the committee’s meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
Aig-Imokhuede said that bonds, fixed income, treasury bills and foreign exchange transactions were still being done over the counter in Nigeria without proper regulations.
He said: “As the market becomes more sophisticated, over the counter activities have to become better organised, otherwise we would have unfortunate developments as market disruptions and so on.
“The bankers committee, a few months ago, actually supported the Financial Market Dealers Association towards sponsoring an over the counter self-regulatory organisation.
“The good news today is that having obtained its registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission, a few months ago, a lot of work has been done and this body is about to commence business.”
Aig-Imokhuede attributed the recent shot down in operations in the bond and money markets to lack of appropriate regulations to regulate developments in the market.
He said that the committee was briefed on the developments, adding that the market rules were being drafted and would be sent to SEC for review and approval.
The bank boss said that the body had also finalised the selection of the Chief Executive Officer and would be inaugurated in August.
He said: “This is an extremely critical development in the growth of the Nigerian financial market that has grown quite exponentially in size.
“But we need to match that growth with appropriate market infrastructure and regulations.”
On Cost of Transactions, he said: “COTs are not charged on any savings account in any bank.”
He urged customers to report illegal charges on savings account to the appropriate authority for investigation.
Fakunle Adeoye, Acting Director, Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Nigeria, said that cashless policy would take off in five more states and the FCT in July.
Adeoye named the states as Abia, Anambra, Ogun, Kano, Rivers and the FCT, adding that efforts were being made to ensure that most of the challenges witnessed in Lagos State were reduced.
“This is in an attempt to make sure that the use of cash is discouraged and to encourage people to use more of cards in financial transactions,” he said.
He said that the states were chosen based on their peculiar nature, especially on business.
The CBN Director of Corporate Communications, Ugo Okoroafor, urged Nigerians to desist from engaging in any banking transactions with wonder banks.
Okoroafor said: “Please, we will like to warn that the so-called wonder banks are not regulated by the CBN.
“They are illegal, criminal.
“Anybody who transacts with then is doing so at his or her own peril.
“We urge you to ensure that any institution that claims to be deposit taker is the one that is registered by the CBN.
“When they begin to offer you fantastic interest rate, please be careful.”