ASHON Urges SEC, Finance Ministry To Create Protocol For Listed Firms Facing Regulatory Action

The Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Federal Ministry of Finance to establish a mandatory protocol for handling regulatory actions against listed companies.

The call followed the recent revocation of Universal Insurance’s operating licence by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), on August 14, 2026, the same day the company announced a binding agreement to raise N7.128 billion to meet recapitalisation requirements.

In a statement signed by chairman of ASHON, Sehinde Adenagbe, the association said the timing of the regulatory action raises fundamental questions about investor protection, market integrity and coordination between sector regulators and capital market authorities.

ASHON stated that while it fully supports effective regulation and recapitalisation of financial institutions, the process must not destroy value or unsettle investors.

“Our concern is not with recapitalisation or prudent regulation. Our concern is with regulatory processes that may achieve the opposite of their intended objective by destroying value, unsettling investors and undermining confidence in publicly traded companies,” it stated.

The Association noted that the affected company had disclosed to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), on August 14, 2026 that it entered into a binding investment agreement for N7.128 billion through a private placement, which upon completion would give the investor a 50.1 per cent majority stake. The company also stated that board and shareholder approvals had been obtained.

However, NAICOM’s cancellation of the company’s registration also took effect on August 14, 2026, pursuant to a notice dated August 13, 2026. A receiver/provisional liquidator was subsequently appointed.

ASHON argued that a listed company is part of public market infrastructure and that any decision affecting its licence, solvency or existence has implications beyond the regulator and the company.

“There must be a formal and mandatory protocol requiring the relevant sector regulator to notify the SEC and NGX before taking final action against a listed entity,” ASHON said, adding that exceptions should only apply in cases of immediate threat to systemic stability or evidence preservation.

The Association referenced SEC’s Regulatory Hub launched in December 2025, saying it provides the technological foundation for improved collaboration and should now be backed by binding operating procedures.

ASHON warned that regulatory fragmentation could erode public confidence in the market, saying that “the last thing the market needs is a situation in which an ordinary investor buys shares of a listed company in good faith, through a regulated Stockbroker, only to discover shortly afterwards that a regulatory decision had already been taken which fundamentally altered the status and value of that investment.”

The Association added that stockbroking firms are also directly exposed, as they are currently raising capital under SEC’s 2026 revised minimum-capital framework.

ASHON proposed a graduated regulatory-resolution framework before licence cancellation, including enhanced supervision, capital-restoration plans, time-bound recapitalization windows, and controlled change of ownership.

It also urged NAICOM and the Federal Ministry of Finance to urgently review the circumstances surrounding the revocation, and called on the SEC to investigate the timing and dissemination of the decision.

ASHON added that “recapitalization should strengthen institutions, not destroy value. Regulation should protect the market, not inadvertently destabilize it.”