The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday directed all registrars to stop the issuance of dividend paper warrants.
A dividend warrant paper is a financial instrument in form of a cheque issued by a quoted company to its shareholders through which dividend is paid to them.
The Acting Director-General, SEC, Dr Abdul Zubair said this during a media briefing on the on-going capital market initiatives of the commission.
He said the stoppage of the issuance of dividend paper warrants would take effect from January 1 this year, adding that all paper warrants issued up till December 31, 2017, were still valid and should be honoured by banks.
He says: “In line with the approved rules of the Commission, all registrars have been directed to stop the issuance of dividend paper warrants with effect from January 1, 2018.
However, paper dividend warrants issued warrants issued up till December 31, 2017, are valid and should be honoured
The commission also said that investors who bought shares of the same company during public offers, using different names are allowed until March 31, 2018, to regularise their shareholdings, in line with SEC on customer identification.
“Thereafter, all shares not regularised shall be transferred, on trust, to the Capital Market Development Fund,” he says.
Furthermore, those who did not register for the electronic dividend will henceforth pay a marginal cost of N150.
“Such investors should continue to approach their banks or registrars, as usual, to seamlessly mandate their bank accounts for the collection of their dividend electronically, including unclaimed dividend not exceeding 12 years of issue, as the N150 would not be demanded from them at the point of registration,” he adds.
