SEC to fully digitalise capital market

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said it is proposing some guidelines that will enable investors in the capital market to do virtually everything they need to do on their Internet-enabled appliances.

It said in a statement that this was part of its efforts to fully digitalise operations of the Nigerian capital market.

These were contained in a guideline on Minimum Operating Standards for Information Technology for capital market operators recently exposed to the public, the statement said.

The new regulatory framework, according to the SEC, undergoing review sought to mandate compulsory adoption of information and communication technology, particularly web-based applications and devices, for virtually capital market transactions.

The statement said the purpose of the guidelines was to establish a threshold of operational efficiency in the Nigerian capital market through the effective adoption of the information technology in driving business operations and ensuring the security, confidentiality, integrity and reliability of information systems.

“The new rules mandate all capital market operators to have well-secured and functional website as well as functional electronic mailing system, either hosted privately or using a cloud service provider, with domain name owned and registered by the capital market operator.” The statement said,