Our regulators are funny. Why won’t they be when we recycle journey men turning the regulatory platform into a Rehabilitation centre for old Civil and non innovative Servants and political cronies who need where to lay their heads instead of populating with forward thinking operators.
This increase of regulatory fees announcement by the SEC of a whooping increase in fee structure across board is anything but, sensible and it is at best even obtuse in a contracting economy where you need to encourage entrepreneurship.
It is reflective of how detached all our regulators are concerning the dynamics of the market they claim to regulate. How do you even increase fees in a declining economy with absolutely no increase in productivity?
Do they even recognise the market again? If you ask me, they are still regulating the market of the 80s which was delineated by an old stinking call over session
Today’s fast paced technology driven markets is certainly way off the understanding of the SEC or how do you explain a situation where a significant proportion of transactions in the new economy do not pass through their doors? The other platform, the NSE has seen a steady decline in listed companies since this new management took over. Instead of focusing on increasing the amount of listed companies through meaningful engagement, the focus is on over regulation with first world rules In a third world environment. Fallacious at best!
Daily we hear of starts ups raising extravagant and extraordinary sums in innovative and novel transactions, pursuing unicorn status and all our people can do is to look the other way and become increasingly retrogressive!!!
Simple crowd funding regulations we are battling with for years, is it the esoteric derivatives that now rules the landscape that these ones will understand or regulate? Common standardization of commodities products is beyond the common understandings and yet to increase fees is easy to implement!!
Raising issuing House fees and other fees from N500k to N10million is worse than madness especially in a market just recovering from COVID-19 and a debilitating slump. Other fees were increased by almost 2000%!!!! Are they in the same market with the operators?
How many primary offers have we had or is it the MTN’s offer that is giving them this unwarranted confidence?
The regulator should have an immediate rethink, because this would crowd out the market and lead to Colossal loss of jobs in the sector.
The market has always been timid. Ruled by timid players who will never have the balls to stand up against regulators even when it’s so clear that something has to be done.
This is why this kind of naked abuse can take place.
For me, its the bigger picture I see. The lack of growth this will engender and its concomitant effect on the economy and its development is my pain.
This is rubbish if you ask me
Duke of Shomolu
