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By Chukwuma Umeorah
Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS) has said that the expansion of recognised asset classes under the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 will strengthen Nigeria’s capital market framework and position it for long-term growth, capital market infrastructure provider.
This was disclosed by the Head of Treasury and Investments at CSCS Plc, Akinwonuola Atitebi, during an engagement with the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria, held under the theme, ‘Regulatory Reforms: ISA 2025 and Investment Climate.’
President Bola Tinubu earlier this year assented to the ISA 2025, which formally recognises digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, while making it illegal to operate digital asset exchanges or online foreign exchange trading platforms without registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Speaking on the significance of the law, Atitebi said markets naturally evolve and that the ISA 2025 reflects changes that have occurred over the last two decades. “Today’s markets are different from those of a decade ago. This act brings everything together and, importantly for CSCS, includes additional asset classes that were previously unregulated,” he said.
He noted that the inclusion of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets presents “an area of immense opportunity,” adding that CSCS has already begun investing in infrastructure to support trading in such asset classes. According to him, this positions the market infrastructure to support future innovation as the regulatory framework takes effect.
Atitebi commended the Securities and Exchange Commission, alongside other stakeholders including the Ministry of Finance, for putting together what he described as a robust piece of legislation, while pledging the full support of CSCS for its effective implementation.
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“But going forward, it’s one thing to have a near-perfect act, a near-perfect document, a near-perfect framework, a legal framework that addresses all our issues and all gaps. It’s another thing to execute,” he said.
He added that the current leadership of the SEC has demonstrated capacity in driving reforms, stressing the need for market operators to support the regulator.
“CSCS is committed, fully aligned with SEC’s goals, and I can say that on behalf of the board and management of CSCS, we will stand by to assist in any way required to fully implement ISA 2025,” Atitebi said.
On compliance, Atitebi said the law embeds proactive measures aimed at curbing market abuses, citing the prohibition of cash transactions in the capital market and the requirement for all securities to be dematerialised before secondary market trading.
“One thing that we gave the SEC a big plus point was the proactiveness in a lot of the provisions regarding compliance. I think if implemented properly, a lot of the abuses we’ve seen in the past will not even come up,” he said.
He explained that banning cash transactions removes avenues for money laundering, while mandatory dematerialisation reduces risks associated with manual processes. “You are cleaning up the capital markets just by having those provisions in the ISA 2025,” he added.
With the ISA 2025 now in force, stakeholders expect the Nigerian capital market to deepen its product offering, strengthen compliance standards and align more closely with global best practices, building on recent reforms such as the transition to a T+2 settlement cycle championed by CSCS Plc.
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