By NKIRUKA NNOROM

The Central Securities Clearing System, CSCS, has announced that the total value of transactions it cleared in the year ended December 2013 is worth more than $1 trillion.

This represents a 59.0 percent increase in the value of equities cleared and settled over the preceding year.

The company also reported profit before tax of 4.82 billion, a 56 percent growth over N3.09 billion reported in the previous year.

The company’s total revenue grew by 33.16 percent from N5.17 billion in 2012 to N6.8 billion in 2013 just as its expenditure decreased by 0.71 percent from N2.078 billion to N2.063 billion.

Addressing shareholders at the 20th Annual General Meeting, AGM, in Lagos, the Managing Director, Mr. Kyari Bukar, said the value of transactions settled within the year exceeded that of the previous year by 4.0 percent with net value of transactions amounting to N658.22 billion.

The record, according to him, makes a strong argument in favour of the fair price of Nigerian equities despite the reduction in the number of listed securities (equities, Bonds and ETFs) from 256 in 2012 to 254 in the year under review.

He noted that CSCS recorded downturn in activities relating to clearing and settlement of fixed income securities, owing to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) action in December 2013 of withdrawing the clearing and settlement function of Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) securities (FGN Bonds and Nigerian Treasury Bills) for Deposit Money Banks and Discount houses from CSCS.

“Currently, the CBN performs the function of clearing and settlement of these securities through its newly established Central Securities Depository.