Securities and Exchange Commission to unveil new e-dividend portal

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled plans to create a new e-dividend portal that would help simplify the process of mandating accounts in the capital market.

Besides, the commission also explained that processes put in place to entrench trust in the Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) has increased the fund under management from N1 trillion in 2020 to N2 trillion in 2023.

The figure is reported to have risen to N190 billion in August 2023 from N180 billion as at December 2021 and N170 billion in 2020.

Earlier, the apex capital market regulator has put several measures in place to eradicate the difficulties encountered by retail investors in claiming their dividends through their savings accounts, especially with the introduction of the e-Dividend Management Mandate System (e-DMMS).

The initiative, which was rolled out in 2015, is an electronic dividend payment platform that enables an investor’s account to be credited after 24 hours the dividend is paid.

Also, SEC recently inaugurated the e-dividend champions for banks and registrars at its Lagos Zonal office.

The champions would have the responsibility of forwarding all shareholders’ complaints on registration to the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) to give clarifications on the issues within three days.

Rising unclaimed dividend figures have been linked to a lack of awareness, forgotten investments, multiple subscriptions, and inaccurate and outdated information/identity management necessitating the commission to deploy measures to check the trend.

Speaking at the SEC Journalists’ training held in Lagos, the Director-General of the Commission, Lamido Yuguda, said SEC was poised to tackle the perennial problems of unclaimed dividends.

According to him, the portal, which is expected to become operational by the end of November, would enhance efficiency and ultimately lead to a significant fall in unclaimed dividends.

He said: “In furtherance of its efforts to ensure that new dividends do not become unclaimed, the commission is presently supporting work on an identity management system that would ensure that investors and market participants are properly identified so as to forestall the problems that led to accumulation of unclaimed dividends.”

Guardian/Hauwa Abu