ABUJA: Nigeria’s markets regulator has significantly increased capital requirements for the securities industry. The minimum for brokers has tripled, and new multi-billion-naira thresholds now apply to underwriters, exchanges, and fund managers, according to a circular released on Friday.
This is the most significant effort so far by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission to recapitalise the financial sector. It marks a major overhaul after years of warnings about undercapitalised firms and comes after the central bank’s 2024 banking reforms.
The regulator said these changes will make the market stronger, protect investors, and give it more control over digital-asset platforms.
The new rules are effective immediately. Companies must comply by June 30, 2027, or they could face suspension or lose their licenses. The regulator may allow transition plans for some firms.
With these changes, brokers now need to hold 600 million naira ($423,143) in capital, up from 200 million. Proprietary dealers must now have 1 billion naira, which is ten times more than before.
Broker-dealers now need 2 billion naira, up from 300 million. Inter-dealer brokers face the biggest increase, rising to 2 billion naira from only 50 million.
Analysts expected some increases, but the size of these changes shows a strong push for better balance sheets and more protection for investors. They say the new rules will likely change the industry, helping bigger companies and forcing smaller ones to merge, get acquired, or change their strategies.
Fund management companies also have major changes. Tier-1 managers, who run collective investment schemes and alternative funds with up to 40% foreign exposure, now need 5 billion naira, up from 150 million. Tier-2 managers must have 2 billion naira. Managers with more than 100 billion naira in assets must hold capital equal to at least 10% of those assets.
Primary market operators also face large increases. Issuing houses now need 2 billion naira, underwriters need 7 billion naira, and stand-alone underwriters need 5 billion naira. All of these are up from 200 million.
Market infrastructure providers now need to hold between 5 and 10 billion naira. Central counterparties must have 10 billion naira.
The SEC also increased the minimum capital for digital-asset firms. Exchanges and custodians now need 2 billion naira, and real-world-asset tokenisers must have at least 1 billion naira. Commodities, collateral managers, and warehouse operators must each hold 500 million naira.
