Beyond Recapitalisation: Registrars Urged To Embrace AI Or Risk Being Bypassed

Registrars must move beyond meeting the new N2.5 billion minimum capital to build resilient, technology-driven and trusted institutions, or risk being bypassed in a fast-changing capital market.

That was the message at the 15th Annual Conference of the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), which also featured the investiture of Fellows and induction of Associates, as regulators, market leaders and practitioners charted the future of the registrar profession.

The president and chairman of Council of ICMR, Mrs. Catherine Nwosu, said fifteen years of the Institute represents professional development, institutional growth and sustained commitment to strengthening the capital market ecosystem.

She said the theme, “Beyond Recapitalisation: Building Resilient Institutions and Sustainable Capital Markets,” is timely, as recapitalisation alone cannot guarantee long-term sustainability.

“What happens after recapitalisation? Is a stronger capital base, on its own, sufficient to guarantee institutional resilience?” she asked.

Nwosu said the industry must continue to invest in technology, cybersecurity, data integrity, efficient service delivery and innovative shareholder engagement to meet the demands of a new generation of investors.

Chairman of Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc, Dr. Seinde Fadeni, said recapitalisation may strengthen institutions, but trust, integrity, independence and collaboration make markets resilient.

He described the Registrar as more than a custodian of shareholder records, noting that Registrars sit at the intersection of issuers, investors and market infrastructure, managing ownership, corporate actions and shareholder engagement.

He called on stakeholders to recognise, engage and deliberately integrate Registrars into the evolving capital-market value chain.

The director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, said the minimum capital for registrars rose from N150 million to N2.5 billion under the Investments and Securities Act 2025, with full compliance required by June 30, 2027.

Agama represented by the head of the Lagos Zonal Office, Mr John Briggs described registrars as systemically important institutions, holding ownership records of millions of Nigerians.

Agama said artificial intelligence and digital assets will define what lies beyond recapitalisation.

He urged registrars to clean and enrich registers, tackle about N270 billion in unclaimed dividends, prevent fraud, deliver service at scale in local languages, and automate corporate actions.

On digital assets, he said tokenisation is entering the regulated mainstream and registrars must become transfer agents for tokenised securities, administrators of programmable corporate actions, and partners in fractional ownership.

“If registrars do not build this bridge, others will build it without you,” he warned.

Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group, Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga, said registrars proved critics wrong in the fully digital Dangote Refinery public offer.

Kwairanga described registrars as guardians of the wealth of individuals and corporate organisations, keeping accurate records and ensuring seamless transfer of securities.

He said the era of manual files was gone, noting that NGX was ready for allotment 24 hours after the offer, against one month previously.

He urged registrars to embrace technology, digitalisation, cybersecurity and AI, and complete recapitalisation to become more efficient and client-friendly.

He also disclosed NGX now holds 10 per cent stakes in Ethiopian and Kenyan exchanges, as part of mobilising African capital for African development.