SEC gives BGL till June to create liquid assets, insists interim board remains

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given BGL Plc up till June 1, 2015 to create liquid assets that guarantee safety of investors’ money in their custody, BusinessDay has learnt.

SEC early this week intervened in the operations of BGL, a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) by suspending its board and appointing an interim management to rescue it from the current liquidity challenges the company is going through.

BGL Group provides advisory services and products to clients including government, corporations, financial institutions and ultra high networth individuals (HNIs).

“It is true that we have taken an enforcement action and removed the board of BGL Plc and appointed interim management. We also considered the action could have a run on the company. BGL has illiquid assets that could not meet its obligation to its clients. The enforcement action was as a result of the ruling of the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST),” a source at SEC told BusinessDay.

He insisted that SEC’s decision to suspend board members of BGL was aimed at rescuing the company from collapse.

It was learnt that SEC intervened in the operations of BGL Group after investigating some complaints made by investors against it.

Also learnt was that SEC in the course of its investigation had written BGL seeking clarification about the complaints before reaching a decision to replace the management.

SEC appointed an interim management board headed by Oladipo Aina, an experienced stockbroker. Other members of the board are Abubakar Ambursa, Hafsat Rufai, Temitayo Siyanbola and Tonne Ladipo-Ajayi.

Before SEC’s intervention, board of BGL Plc was made up of Albert Okumagba, group managing director/CEO. He is the current president of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS). Other previous board members include Dafe Akpedeye, chairman; Ahmadu Musa Kida, non-executive director; Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman, non-executive director; Adekunle Alli, non-executive director; Mohan Lalchandani, non-executive director, and Chibundu N. Edozie, group deputy managing director.

BGL had received the ‘Overall Winner (Investment Category)’ Award at the 12th Web Jurist Awards in recognition of its commitment to delivering value to all stakeholders through cutting edge technology.

Founded in 1993 and formerly known as Banc Garanti Limited, BGL commenced business as a bank holding company with the aim of acquiring distressed or underperforming institutions in the banking sector.

The group has since expanded its business lines to become one of Nigeria’s most successful financial institutions and a very influential member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Month-on-month, trading figures from the NSE show that BGL Securities Limited, a subsidiary of BGL Plc, is among the top ten stockbrokers whose clientele base are majorly foreign investors who drive the volume and value of their deals at the NSE