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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Nigeria’s capital market is set for a major shake-up following the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC’s) decision to substantially raise the minimum capital base for operators across nearly all segments of the industry.
In a new regulatory framework released on January 16, 2026, the Commission replaced the existing capital regime and granted operators an 18-month transition period, with full compliance expected by June 30, 2027.
The SEC said the revised requirements are designed to build a stronger and more resilient market, protect investors, and curb the activities of weakly capitalised firms, while aligning operators’ capital levels with the risks associated with modern financial activities.
The new rules affect a wide range of market participants, including stockbrokers, dealers, fund managers, issuing houses, fintech companies, digital asset operators and market infrastructure providers.
Under the revised thresholds, stockbrokers are now required to maintain N600 million in minimum capital, triple the previous N200 million, while dealers must hold N1 billion, up sharply from N100 million.
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Firms operating as broker-dealers face one of the steepest increases, with their capital requirement rising from N300 million to N2 billion.
For fund and portfolio managers, the SEC adopted a graduated approach. Firms managing more than N20 billion in assets are required to hold N5 billion in capital, while medium-sized managers must maintain N2 billion. Operators with assets under management above N100 billion are also required to retain at least 10 per cent of those assets as capital. Private equity and venture capital firms are now required to maintain N500 million and N200 million respectively.
The commission also moved to fully regulate the fast-growing digital asset space. Digital asset exchanges and custodians are now required to maintain N2 billion each, while tokenisation platforms and related intermediaries must hold between N500 million and N1 billion. Robo-advisers will operate with a minimum capital base of N100 million.
Other market operators were not left out. “Other segments are also affected: issuing houses offering full underwriting services must hold N7 billion, advisory-only firms N2 billion, registrars N2.5 billion, trustees N2 billion, underwriters N5 billion, and individual investment advisers N10 million. Market infrastructure providers carry some of the highest obligations, with composite exchanges and central counterparties required to maintain N10 billion each, and clearinghouses N5 billion,” the commission stated.
Market watchers say the tougher capital rules are likely to drive consolidation, as smaller or under-resourced firms may be forced to merge or exit the market.
The SEC, however, said the reforms will result in a more stable market dominated by stronger institutions with improved governance standards.
