Financial Sector Assessment Program : Nigeria - IOSCO Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation

The regulatory framework for securities markets in Nigeria has improved markedly since the 2002 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), and particularly in the last five years. Since the adoption of the Investments and Securities Act 2007 (ISA) and the first set of rules and regulations of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulatory framework has been further strengthened and expanded. The SEC cooperates both at the domestic and international level with its counterparts and other authorities. The SEC focuses on regulating the products offered to investors through extensive scrutiny of prospectuses for all securities, including collective investment schemes. An assessment of the level of implementation of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) principles in Nigeria was conducted from September 4 to 19, 2012 as part of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank FSAP. The assessment was made based on the IOSCO objectives and principles of securities regulation approved in 2010 and the methodology updated in 2011. The IOSCO methodology requires that assessors not only look at the legal and regulatory framework in place, but also at how it has been implemented in practice. The Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) provides a process for the resolution of securities markets related cases that do not have to be resolved in the regular court system. The purpose of the assessment is primarily to ascertain whether the legal and regulatory securities markets requirements of the country and the operations of the securities regulatory authorities in implementing and enforcing these requirements in practice meet the standards set out in the IOSCO principles. The assessment is to be a means of identifying potential gaps, inconsistencies, weaknesses and areas where further powers and/or better implementation of the existing framework may be necessary and used as a basis for establishing priorities for improvements to the current regulatory scheme. The assessment of the country's observance of each individual principle is made by assigning to it one of the following assessment categories: fully implemented, broadly implemented, partly implemented, not implemented and not applicable. The IOSCO assessment methodology provides a set of assessment criteria to be met in respect of each Principle to achieve the designated benchmarks.