The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled sweeping reforms that revise minimum capital requirements for almost all capital market operators, marking the most significant overhaul since 2015.
Issued on January 16, 2026, the new circular gives operators until June 30, 2027, to comply, replacing the previous framework.
According to the SEC, the reforms aim to strengthen market resilience, improve investor protection, and discourage undercapitalised operators while aligning capital adequacy with evolving market risks.
“The revised framework applies to brokers, dealers, fund managers, issuing houses, fintech firms, digital asset operators, and market infrastructure providers,” the SEC said.
Key changes include:
Brokers: Minimum capital increased from N200 million to N600 million.
Dealers: Raised to N1 billion from N100 million.
Broker-dealers: Jump from N300 million to N2 billion, reflecting multi-role exposure across trading, execution, and margin lending.
Fund and portfolio managers: Tiered requirements; managers with assets above N20 billion must hold N5 billion, mid-tier managers N2 billion.
Private equity and venture capital firms: N500 million and N200 million, respectively.
Digital asset firms: Exchanges and custodians must maintain N2 billion each; tokenisation platforms N500 million–N1 billion; robo-advisers N100 million.
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Other segments: Full underwriting issuing houses N7 billion; advisory-only N2 billion; registrars N2.5 billion; trustees N2 billion; underwriters N5 billion; individual investment advisers N10 million; composite exchanges and central counterparties N10 billion; clearinghouses N5 billion.
Analysts predict that the higher thresholds may lead to industry consolidation, with smaller firms potentially merging, downscaling, or exiting the market.
The SEC expects that a leaner, well-capitalised, and better-governed industry will strengthen investor protection and overall market stability.
With the 18-month transition period ahead of the June 30, 2027, deadline, the SEC’s initiative signals a strategic shift toward a more resilient and robust Nigerian capital market.