The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended its free e-dividend registration deadline to March 31, 2018. A senior management staff in the Commission, who pleaded anonymity made the disclosure to newsmen in Lagos.
The official said the deadline was extended in principle for the third time for operators to clear their e-dividend backlogs. E-dividend refers to online payment of dividends to investors rather than through post, an option favoured to trim the huge backlog of unclaimed dividends. The advantage of e-dividend is that it allows all accrued dividends to be credited to an investor’s bank account directly to stem the rising problem of unclaimed dividends in the capital market.
The source said that the key reason for the extension was to clear the backlogs and work out details of how the parties involved in the exercise would get their share.
He further listed the parties involved in the exercise to include the registrars and the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), adding that the appointed banks were currently working out the sharing formula for the registration fee. He said the Commission could not come publicly to announce another extension, noting that no investor would be charged for delay in the registration until April 1. The source said that low investor response to the exercise contributed to SEC’s decision to give room for enrolment of more investors.
SEC, in June 2017, extended the underwriting cost of investors’ e-dividend registration to December 31, 2017 against the earlier deadline of June 30, 2017. On January 18, 2018, the commission also announced the extension of the deadline to February 28, 2018, to encourage more shareholders’ participation in the scheme