Securities and Exchange Commission adopts enforceable guidelines to protect investors

The Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh says the Commission is taking pragmatic steps to strengthen the capital market and to protect investors’ funds.

Among the measures is the issuance of new guidelines for market operators and migration from a compliance-based framework to a risk-based approach to take care of potential areas which could disturb the capital market.

Rev Tetteh was speaking at a forum with investors’ dubbed time with the commission on the theme: "Ensuring Investors Protection."

The engagement the second in a series with stakeholders was to address issues affecting industry players and to enable SEC to offer timely information to the public and to get feedback to improve performance to achieve its mandate.

He said the SEC had intensified market education of the investing public and market operators as well as strengthened internal human resource capacity.

He said the creation of the Financial Stability Council had helped to bridge gaps in the sector as various regulators were able to share information.

The Director-General said SEC had started preliminary processes to establish an Investor Protection Fund and embarked on a digitisation agenda to quicken turn around in analysing and tapping into data to better position the commission to protect investors’ funds.

Other actions include revision of the licensing requirements for fund management companies, including an increase in minimum capital requirements to better protect investors, ensure strict adherence to the fit and proper principle and to boost market development and enhance regulatory oversight of the commission.

He said the new and enforceable guidelines would ensure better protection for investors.

Mrs Jemima Oware, the Official Liquidator of Fund Management Companies (FMCs), said from the inception of the Class meeting on 15 September to 12 November 2020, 4,154 investors had signed up for the bailout package.

She said the value of the claims of the signed up clients as at 12th November was GH¢767 million.

Mrs Oware, who is also the Registrar-General, said over 2,220 claimants were paid with a value of GH¢257 million, adding that GCB Capital was now making payment to investors who had been signed on by accepting the government bailout package.

She said 10 more companies were gazette for liquidation, adding that the winding up of companies was characterized by challenges such as the complex and bureaucratic court processes, inability to locate some companies, and inaccurate contact details.

Other challenges were non-confirmation of claim validations and dispute over validated claims.

“In the light of all these challenges of the bureaucratic court processes, it is welcoming news that the government has authorised the partial bailout for all remaining customers of the revoked FMCs, pending the outcome of the liquidation petition orders,” she said.

She also assured investors that the office of the Official Liquidator would expedite the process to bring the much-needed relief to investors and creditors.

GNA