Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of FCMB Limited, Ladi Balogun
The creation of FMDQ November 12, 2013 marks a landmark achievement in the development of Nigerian financial market, as FMDQ uniquely combines functions of a securities exchange and a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for the OTC financial markets.
The First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited on Monday made a great steep listed its N26billion Series 1, 7-Year 14.25 per cent Fixed Rate Unsecured Bond on the Financial Market Dealers Quotation (FMDQ) OTC Plc.
The bond is under the bank’s N100 billion debt issuance programme.
Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of FCMB Limited, Ladi Balogun said that proceeds of the bond would be used in strengthening the bank’s capital base, enhancing its capital adequacy ratio, expanding its distribution channels and infrastructure as well as growing its risk assets with a view to enhancing income.
“The bond provides a long term capital that will help us to reinforce our commitment to our customers,” he said.
According to Balogun, the significance of listing the FCMB bond on the FMDQ platform is hinged on the availability of a readily accessible liquid market to the bondholders, where the value of their investments can easily be determined and monitored on a daily basis.
Balogun commended FMDQ’s efforts towards creating more depth in the Nigerian debt market, while applauding the platform’s seamless processes and its drive to achieve market transparency by deploying technology driven initiatives.
Speaking in the same vein, the Executive Director of FCMB Capital Markets Limited, Tolu Osinibi, said that, ‘’in a relatively short space of time, FMDQ is clearly demonstrating significant value-add in improving the dynamism, efficiency and sophistication of Nigeria’s growing fixed income market. The contribution of the FMDQ platform to improving market information, liquidity and transparency is already proven; these are critical success factors to the growth of Nigeria’s capital market’’.
In her comments, the Group Head, Business Development at FMDQ OTC Plc, Ms. Tumi Sekoni said, ‘’FMDQ, recognising the growth potential of issuers of debt in the Nigerian capital market, affords a remarkable opportunity for the issuers to raise the profile of their issues and access a deep pool of funds’’.
“Listing of debt securities on the OTC securities exchange provides a wide range of benefits across the debt market value chain, amongst which are global visibility, transparency, improved secondary market liquidity, price formation and benchmark pricing,” she added.
