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Tuesday 23 April 2019

Nigerian Stock Exchange Fines Access, Diamond Bank For violating Disclosure Rules

The Nigerian Stock Exchange has fined Access Bank, Diamond Bank and First Aluminium a total of 8.12 million naira for violating its disclosure rules.

The local bourse in its latest X-Compliance report said Access Bank and Diamond Bank were fined for failing to disclose the resolutions passed at the meeting of their board of directors relating to the merger of the two institutions.
Access Bank was fined 4.41 million naira, while Diamond Bank was fined 3.23 million naira, according to the report, which brings the total amount to be paid by the two banks to 7.64 million naira.
Access Bank acquired Diamond Bank in a deal the two institutions described as merger this month, operating under the Access Bank franchise.
The merger process was initiated last December and concluded this month, with Access Bank becoming the largest bank by customer base in the continent.
As part of the deal, Diamond Bank said its shareholders would receive 3.13 naira per share, comprising of 1.00 naira per share in cash and the allotment of two new Access Bank ordinary shares for every seven Diamond Bank ordinary shares.
Diamond bank has been managing its capital since 2016 after huge loan losses worsened by a weak economy forced it to sell its foreign subsidiaries.

First Aluminium was fined N476,280 for non-dispatch of the notice of its Annual General Meeting and annual reports to shareholders 21 days before the date of the meeting.

The NSE said every listed company was required to provide the Exchange with timely information to enable it efficiently perform its function of maintaining an orderly market.

It stated that in accordance with the provisions of Appendix III: General undertaking (equities), the rulebook of the Exchange, 2015 (issuers’ rules) and the Exchange’s circular no. NSE/LARD/LRD/CIR3/17/05/12 on publication of announcements or press releases via the issuers’ portal, listed companies were required to obtain prior written approval from the Exchange before publications that affect shareholders’ interest were made in the media or via the issuers’ portal.

The NSE said in addition, companies were also required to disclose material information to the Exchange and publish the information in their annual reports.

The report read in part, “Access Bank, Diamond Bank and First Aluminium breached certain provisions of the listings rules and were sanctioned accordingly.”

So far in the year, Only Access Bank, Diamond Bank and First Aluminium have committed disclosure violations and have been fined accordingly.

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