Skye Bank’s Crash, wake-up Call for Shareholders — ASHON

• Skye Bank’s Crash, wake-up Call for Shareholders — ASHON

The Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria has said the crash of Skye Bank Plc is a wake-up call for shareholders.

ASHON described shareholders as the major risk bearers in any company.

The Vice President, ASHON, Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, while speaking at the third Capital Markets Committee meeting in Lagos on Thursday, stated that shareholders did not know how to exercise their rights and powers.

He said shareholders had been too complacent and needed to wake up.

According to Akeredolu-Ale, the Securities and Exchange Commission has a code of governance that allows minority shareholders to have a voice and speak up when things are going wrong.

He stated that the shareholders failed to exercise their rights by reporting any wrongdoings, but would rather prefer to wait for the Central Bank of Nigeria or the SEC to defend them or come to their rescue.

He said, “The CBN’s major responsibility is to protect depositors, and that is what it will focus on. The shareholders, on their own part, are supposed to make sure that they have strong governance structures within their companies and make sure that when anything is going wrong, they bring it up at their various Annual General Meetings.

“That is why no major decision can be taken in any company without seeking the approval of shareholders. There should be more emphasis on investor education as to how shareholders can exercise their rights to control big institutions before they lose their investments.”

The Head, Exchanges Division, SEC, Agama Emomotimi, said although the SEC’s responsibility to protect shareholders was sacrosanct, it only applied within the workings of the bank or any other company.

He said, “It is unfortunate that what has happened has happened, but the SEC will continue to explore ways on how to better protect shareholders in the future.