FMDQ Registers Rand Merchant Bank N80bn Commercial Paper

FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange has reinforced its support for the development of the Nigerian debt capital markets as it has registered   Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited’s N80 billion Commercial Paper (CP) programme . According to FMDQ, the registration strategically positions Rand Merchant Bank to easily and quickly raise short-term finance from the debt market at a time in the future it determines suitable, through CP issues, within the CP Programme limit.

“In addition to the commendable and considerably efficient registration process, the quotation, on FMDQ, of the future CP issues from the registered Rand Merchant Bank CP Programme, will provide stakeholders with continuous provision of invaluable information as part of the exchange’s commitment to organise, govern and enforce transparency in the fixed income market space, thus, serving to further boost confidence in the possibilities of the Nigerian financial market,” the exchange said.

The platform said in line with its strategic objectives to support institutional growth and stimulate the continuous development of the economy at large, it has shown its steadfastness in realising these objectives through the promotion of product innovation and the championing of key market development initiatives, in order to ensure that opportunities abound for the markets under its purview.

The platform last year set up set up the Debt Capital Market Development (DCMD) Project to ensure the effective implementation of the recommendations drawn from debt capital market (DCM) workshop   in 2015.

The sole aim of the workshop was to harness the capacity and potential of the domestic DCM, and facilitate the exchange of ideas for enhancing and deepening the Nigerian financial market. The workshop, which was attended by domestic and international financial market experts and regulators, considered various challenges limiting the growth of the Nigerian DCM and arrived at key decisions that would galvanise the Nigerian DCM to enable it reach desirable heights within the African and global financial markets.

According to the FMDQ, the resolutions from the workshop have been translated into the Nigerian DCM Transformation Roadmap to be executed through the DCMD Project.

“The DCMD Project, having received the unrivalled support of the apex regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was officially launched during the Commission’s third Quarter Capital Market Committee Meeting, on November 24, 2016. Its focus on identifying and implementing quick-win strategies that would transform the Nigerian DCM into a world-class, properly functioning DCM by 2020 drawing strongly from SEC’s 10-year Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan (NCMMP), with the DCMD Project seeking to fast-track the realisation of the DCM initiatives in the NCMMP,” FMDQ said.