TheCable

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has mandated issuers to obtain a reference letter of no-objection from their respective primary regulators. 

An issuer is a legal entity that develops, registers and sells securities to finance its operations. Some of the issuing houses in Nigeria include Chapel Hill Advisory Partners Limited, Capital Assets Limited, Cordros Capital Limited, etc.

It added the reference letter would have to be filed along with other application documents presented to the commission.

A no-objection letter is a type of legal document issued by any agency stating that it has no funding objection to a funding proposal by an accredited entity. 

The commission issued a circular to this effect on Thursday. 

According to the circular, the commission said the new directive would improve its transaction turn-around period and enhance the integrity of capital market instruments.

“The Commission hereby draws the attention of Issuing Houses to the due diligence requirement for a “No-Objection” letter from “primary regulators” of Issuers, especially those in the Banking and Insurance sectors, as a prerequisite for the commission’s approval of proposed transactions,” the circular reads. 

SEC further said that the letter of no-objection should cover confirmation that there have not been any material changes in the financial statements of the issuer/sponsor from the last accounting year end to date; names of current members of the board of directors; and no-objection to the proposed issuance.

“Please be informed that wherein relevant instances, an application is not accompanied by a letter of “No-Objection”, such submission will be considered to be incomplete and would not be processed,” the commission added.