The duty of regulators is to regulate the market. If the authorities feel that the stock broking firms are operating below expectations and  knowing the level that they should be operating then they are in a better position to ask for increase in capital base.

They are in the right position to tell stockbrokers and other operators in the market   to recapitalise. I think this recapitalisation is  for the good of the stock broking houses as well the investors. The   regulators are not going to collect the money from them, there is nothing wrong about recapitalisation, it has been on for about some years now, they have given them about 12 months   to comply in order to meet  the deadline.

As regulators they have the right to penalize any operator that fails to comply. The stockbrokers cannot be left to continue to operate the same way. for instance, something happened to one of my investment partners .  .A stock broking firm sold their shares worth over N40 million, there is no way to get such money   back but if they were well recapitalized   and strong, the better for the investors. It is better to have10 vibrant stock broking firms than 100 that do not meet the requirement   and this is the problem with Nigerians once they have money, instead of merging the want to establish their own.

But what we tell investors is that the regulators might have their faults, but we know they understand it better than us because they are regulating this system. Investors will be having nothing to lose because all the shares of the investors are not with the stockbroking firms but with CSCS. Even if any stock broking firm collapses, that does not mean the owners of the shares would   lose their shares. If you want to change your shares from one stock broker to another, what you do is to fill form to CSCS because the shares are with the company and not the stock broking firm, it is the share of the company not that of the stock broking firm.

If the stock broking firm is quoted for instance, it is a different thing, but they are not quoted. It is the company’s shares that they are buying on behalf of their clients that are quoted.