The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced plans to sanction 28 companies for failing to meet post-listing requirements. This include defaultment in timely release of operational reports and financial statements.
The list of offenders released by the exchange include three commercial banks, a microfinance bank, three mortgage bankers, five insurance companies, one investment management firm and 15 other firms in various non-financial sectors.
According to the NSE, the companies failed to submit their interim report and accounts for the period ended June 30, 2018. Such default is marked out by the Exchange as a corporate governance failure, which attracts monetary fines, “naming and shaming” tag, suspension of shares from trading and delisting in incurable cases of default.
It further noted that twenty of the firms missed the regulatory deadline of July 30, while Fidelity Bank, which audits its half-year results, missed the August 29 deadline.
Under the listing rules, a late submission attracts a fine of N100,000 daily for the first 90 calendar days of non-compliance, another N200,000 per day for the next 90 calendar days and a fine of N400,000 per day thereafter until the date of submission.
With these, late submission under the first instance of 90 days could attract N9 million, the additional 90 days will attract N18 million while such delay beyond the first 180 days to the next 180 days could attract as much as N72 million, bringing fines payable by a defaulting company within a year to N99 million.
The list of sanctions shows fines ranging from a low of N0.1 million to as high as N51.4 million. Companies had been fined more than N400 million and N500 million in 2016 and 2017 respectively for failure to submit accounts within scheduled periods.
The defaulting firms include:
- Unity Bank Plc
- Skye Bank Plc
- Fidelity Bank Plc
- Fortis Microfinance Bank Plc
- Staco Insurance Plc
- African Alliance Insurance Plc
- Goldlink Insurance Plc
- UNIC Insurance Plc
- International Energy Insurance
- Aso Savings & Loans Plc
- Resort Savings & Loans
- Union Homes Savings & Loans Plc
- Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc.
- R.T Briscoe Plc,
- Smart Products Nigeria Plc
- Afromedia Plc,
- Roads Nigeria Plc
- Nigerian German Chemical Plc,
- Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc
- Golden Guinea Breweries Plc
- Anino International Plc
- Juli Plc,
- Ekocorp Plc
- Union Dicon Salt Plc
- FTN Cocoa Processors Plc
- Evans Medical Plc
- Omatek Ventures Plc
- Dn Tyre & Rubber Plc.
There are 15 companies currently under suspension for failure to meet scheduled submission of financial statements. Forty one monetary fines have so far been placed on companies in 2018, more than 38 monetary fines slammed on companies in 2017.
