By Peter Fears
Unless unforeseen circumstances arise, there is strong evidence that the Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) has put in place an arrangement to ensure that its members trade on all stock exchanges in Nigeria in accordance with the new name of the professional group of business.
ASHON, the coordinating body for all securities brokerages in Nigeria, was previously known as the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria until last year, when the trading group quickly and creatively changed name to reflect the expanded functions of its members without prejudice to the existing acronym. . As part of its brand positioning, the Association also changed its logo and launched it with fanfare to reflect a range of member functions.
This is in line with the bill which will recognize stock brokers as securities dealers from the current narrow perspective of their role limited to trading only stocks.
Informed sources explained this weekend that the report of a technical committee, set up by ASHON to harmonize relations between its members with FMDQ Plc, NASD Plc and Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) was ready for discussion by the Council, each time the members meet.
ASHON is proactive. Remember how quickly it changed its name to reflect the expanded roles of securities dealers as part of the Securities Bill’s early approval expectations. He did this without losing the initial acronym. This was followed by the establishment of a technical committee to define the terms which will allow our members to trade transparently on all securities platforms in Nigeria. The Nigerian Stock Exchange has been the only platform over the years, but we now have the FMDQ, the NASD and the LCFE ready to operate at full capacity. The committee reports will be reviewed by the Council and an appropriate decision will be made, said a source, who requested anonymity this weekend.
Market observers have observed that securities brokers are not as active in the trading of fixed income securities on the FMDQ when the financial instrument was the center of transaction on the Stock Exchange in the past. The stockbrokers slept and the bankers resumed their work before daybreak. I think ASHON is ready to reverse the trend. said a Custom Street analyst.