Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited, the custody subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, recently organised a forum to facilitate the building of a more robust market for custody services in Nigeria to support economic growth.
The move is also expected to deepen development of the local capital market and enhance investor appetite for market securities in the country. A custodian is a financial institution that holds clients’ securities for safekeeping in order to minimise the risk of their theft or loss.
Among such clients’ assets include securities such as share certificates, bonds, stocks and treasury bills. Custody services are available to a wide portfolio of clients, including unit trust schemes, pension funds, corporate clients, high networth individuals, financial institutions, foreign, local and individual investors, insurance funds, fund managers, brokers, and dealers.
The session, which held in Lagos recently had in attendance local investors, fund managers, capital market players, regulators, policymakers, bankers and other stakeholders from the private and public sectors.
Deputy Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Dr. Demola Sogunle, said the aim of the session was to examine contemporary issues in custody services and also to highlight the role of custodianship as a critical component in the capital market value chain.