Eromosele Abiodun
30 November 2011
Newly elected president and chairman of council of Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, has stated that he would do everything in his power to ensure that his team play their part in an effort to restore investors confidence in the capital market.
Olugbemi, who was elected president at the annual conference of the institute in Lagos, said the new council would not rest until the bill for an Act of Parliament to establish the Chartered Institute of Capital Market Registrars was signed into law by the President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said efforts in the past to reposition their members for professionalism had been thwarted by the non-chartered status of the institute, remarking that as registrars, the ICMR is the platform that must be nurtured and encouraged to continue the struggle to getting their deserved recognition.
“The financial system is experiencing some turbulence and the Central Bank of Nigeria has embarked on a series of activities aimed at resuscitating the ailing system. The impact of the banking systems reform is affecting the registrars because we are part of the nation’s capital market which is yet to recover from the downturn the market experience in 2008. We will liaise with our regulators to ensure that members of ICMR are not short changed in the aftermath of the deluge of policies,” Olugbemi said.
The new president said negative comments about share registration practitioners would be turned around with new ways of doing business going forward, adding that they would organise series of brainstorming sessions and retreats to strategise on the way forward.
He said training and retraining of members of the institute would be given new fillip, adding that the institute would collaborate with other stakeholders in the Capital Market to improve its training activities.
He also said for members of the institute to be respected as professionals in the capital market, efforts would be geared towards effective collaboration and cooperation with other professional in the market.
Olugbemi, who also doubles as the managing director of First Bank Registrars, noted that efforts were made before the capital market meltdown for the institute to have its own property, adding that the new council will strive to actualise it before the end of its tenure.
He said though their relationship with the regulator of the market has improved over the years, they will however give it more bite to ensure that all pending issues including getting paid for secondary market transactions were resolved in their favour.
The new president observed that ICMR cannot succeed alone in this struggle without the support of its members. He therefore urged them to pay their annual subscriptions and other dues, attend all mandatory trainings and other conferences, dinners and Annual General Meetings (AGMs)
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