JUST IN: SEC raises capital requirement for market operators

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a far-reaching revision of capital requirements for virtually all capital market operators.

According to a circular released by the Commission on January 16, 2026, this replaces the long-standing 2015 capital regime and sets a compliance deadline of June 30, 2027.

The new framework aims to ‘improve market resilience’, weed out undercapitalised players, and reward firms with governance depth and scale.

The revised capital rules affect brokers, dealers, fund managers, issuing houses, fintech firms, and digital asset operators.

Read Also: NDIC to disburse N24.3bn second payout for Heritage Bank depositors

For brokers, the minimum capital requirement triples from N200 million to N600 million, while dealers now require N1 billion, up from N100 million.

Broker-dealers face the steepest increase from N300 million to N2 billion, reflecting their multi-role exposure across trading, execution, and margin lending.

Fund and portfolio managers are now subject to a tiered structure.

Managers overseeing assets above N20 billion will need N5 billion in capital, while mid-tier managers must hold N2 billion.

Private equity and venture capital firms face requirements of N500 million and N200 million, respectively.

More soon…….