NGX Suspends Unity Bank, NPF Microfinance, Six Others’ Trading

NGX Regulation, the regulatory division of the NGX Group, has halted trading in the stocks of eight companies due to their failure to submit their respective accounts for 2023.

In an announcement released on Monday, the Head of the Issuer Regulation Department, Godstime Iwenekhai, stated that the suspension would take effect immediately.

The companies affected by this suspension, as listed in the market bulletin, are Unity Bank, C&I Leasing Plc, Guinea Insurance, Lasaco Assurance, Mutual Benefits Assurance, NPF Microfinance Bank, Regency Alliance Insurance, and Secure Electronic Technology Plc.

Iwenekhai said, “Trading in the shares of the eight companies below have been suspended from the facilities of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX or The Exchange) effective today, Monday, 8 July 2024, for not filing their Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.”

Also, listed companies are obligated to comply with post-listing requirements by submitting their accounts and other documents within a specified timeframe on the Exchange.

NGX RegCo said that it acted by Rule 3.1 about the Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, (Default Filling Rules), which said, “If an Issuer fails to file the relevant accounts by the expiration of the Cure Period, The Exchange will a) Send to the issuer a Second Filing Deficiency Notification within two business days after the end of the Cure Period.

“b) Suspend trading in the issuer’s securities, and c) Notify the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Market within 24 hours of the suspension.”

According to the regulation, the trading suspension on the shares of the impacted companies will be removed upon their adherence to the regulations.

Insurance firms faced setbacks in submitting their 2023 annual report because of the implementation of IFRS 17 standards.

Under IFRS 17, a corporation must record profits as it provides insurance services (instead of when it collects premiums) and disclose details about anticipated insurance contract profits in the future.