The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a directive requiring all Capital Market Operators to submit their Q2 2026 Ownership Structure and Capital Flows Returns. The deadline for this submission is Friday, July 10, 2026.
This mandate was communicated through a circular titled “Request for the Submission of Q2 2026 Ownership Structure and Capital Flows Returns,” which was published on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. This leaves operators, including Registrars, Brokers/Dealers, and Fund Managers, with a tight two-day window for compliance.
The Commission stated that these returns are crucial for the compilation of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments (BOP) and International Investment Position (IIP) statistics. This initiative is part of ongoing efforts to enhance the quality, coverage, and reliability of Nigeria’s external sector statistics.
Operators are required to provide quarterly data on new equity and debt investments involving residents and non-residents. They must also disclose foreign portfolio holdings, cross-border transactions, and investments linked to mergers and acquisitions.
Further requirements include reporting equity and debt holdings of non-residents in Nigerian entities, and those of Nigerian residents in foreign entities. Investments arising from mergers, acquisitions, and other business combinations involving resident and non-resident entities, along with other cross-border capital market transactions, must also be detailed.
The SEC emphasized that this exercise is a continuous quarterly obligation, not a one-off requirement.
Reporting entities must submit data on investments in newly issued equities and debt securities, foreign portfolio investment holdings in Nigerian companies, and ownership interests from business combinations involving non-residents. Investments by multinational corporations in the Nigerian capital market and equity and bond investments held abroad by resident companies are also required.
The SEC advised operators to strictly adhere to the reporting templates provided for each category and to carefully review the accompanying guidance. All submissions must be complete, accurate, and submitted within the stipulated timeline.
Registrars are specifically required to submit data on the Ownership Structure of Nigerian Companies via a designated Google Form. Brokers/Dealers and Fund Managers must submit three separate returns each: domestic transactions for non-resident investors, foreign transactions for Nigerian residents, and the current US-dollar value of foreign investments they manage for Nigerian residents.
The Commission acknowledged operators who have consistently complied with reporting timelines, recognizing their cooperation as a contribution to a national assignment. This reporting requirement aligns with Nigeria’s capital market drawing international attention, including its recent placement on S&P Dow Jones Indices’ 2027 Frontier Market Watchlist.
Reliable data collection strengthens Nigeria’s case for deeper integration with global capital markets. The country’s external sector statistics heavily rely on accurate capital market data, with BOP and IIP reports influencing how multilateral institutions, rating agencies, and foreign investors assess Nigeria’s macroeconomic position.
The tight deadline places significant pressure on compliance officers across registrars, brokerage firms, and asset management companies to collate and validate data before the Friday deadline.
