THISDAY

SEC Assures Stakeholde­rs of Tech-Driven Market, Investors’ Protection

- Goddy Egene

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has said that it will soon come out with regulation­s that will guide technology-driven products in the capital market. The Acting Director General of SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk during a presentati­on by Vice President, FinTech Associatio­n of Nigeria, Mr. Ade Bajomo, titled: “Market Impact of the FinTech Revolution” in Abuja yesterday.

Uduk, who also announced Bajomo as Chair of the Capital Market Committee on Fintech Roadmap for Capital Markets in Nigeria, said the SEC as the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market is interested in investment­s that Nigerians are making especially with the advent of digitalisa­tion.

“If we will regulate this market and understand what is happening, we need our staff to understand the rudiments of FinTech. Very soon the whole world will move to technology for regulation. Other jurisdicti­ons have already gone far into it with some of them already amending their rules in that direction. The Internatio­nal Organisati­on of Securities Commission­s (IOSCO) is on it and there is a lot on it already all over the world and we can’t be left behind. We are very much interested in some of the most active areas of Fintech innovation like block chain technology, crypto currencies and how they affect investors,” Uduk said.

According her, as regulators of the capital market, it is the responsibi­lity of the SEC to find out how such investment­s are going on and if they meet set standards because when investors lose money they will come back to the SEC.

“That is why we are seeking to understand what FinTech is all about to enable us regulate the market properly,” she stated.

The DG noted that during the last Capital Market Committee meeting in Lagos, the Committee agreed to set up a Committee to draw a Fintech Adoption roadmap for the Capital Market.

Uduk alluded to the growing influence of Fintechs, saying that there is the need for the capital market to take advantage of the Fintech offerings in moving the capital market forward.

She equally emphasised the focus of the commission on capacity building, knowledge sharing, advocacy and collaborat­ion with relevant entities.

“The capital market needs to create an enabling environmen­t that is attractive enough for FinTechs to innovate as the Market should engage actively with the new trend in technology and provide the adequate regulatory framework for proper adoption of suitable technology and that is one of the reasons why we have invited FinTech here today for this presentati­on,” she said.

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