The Federal Government has been urged to extend the proposed Access Management Company (AMC) for banks' toxic asset to stockbroking firms, for a holistic resolution of margin loan crisis.

The National Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Boniface Okezie, who spoke with The Guardian on Tuesday in Lagos, described the AMC as a good step that would help to leverage the banks on their current financial exposure.

He explained that the toxic bail out should be floated to accommodate stockbroking firms, which, according to him, are equally involved in the toxics through margin trading.

The Director-General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, had in her recent address to newsmen, identified AMC as one of the reforms of the financial market that would ensure sustained recovery of the capital market.

"The proposed Asset Management Company (AMC) offers the Nigerian financial market the opportunity of a life time to strengthen our infrastructure and put us in a better position to deal with contingencies as experienced by the market in 2008/2009.

"The regulatory authorities have met to decide on a proposed structure and the President has sent the bill to the National Assembly.

"It is important that the bill is passed as soon as possible in order that the AMC can come into existence and remove a large chunk of the non-performing loans from the books of the banks thereby freeing up credit that can be used to drive economic growth," she said.

Okereke-Onyiuke had maintained that there was need to get the concept of the AMC right and formulate the guidelines for the operation of the AMC to take care of the important details not covered by the bill when it eventually becomes an Act.

The bill seeking to establish AMC to soak up bad bank loans was on Thursday 28, 2010 defended by the CBN, the SEC and the NDIC.

The NDIC backed the proposed legislation on the grounds that the AMC will also enhance the capacity of industry regulators to handle the N168.7 billion loan assets of banks under liquidation.

On how to improve the stock market, Okezie called on the new Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mrs Arunma Oteh, to come up with policies that would move the capital market up.

"The SEC DG should tell Nigerian investors how she will take the market forward. She should consult the stakeholders on the way forward for the capital market. This is because investors want their confidence restored," he said.

Okezie also faulted the demutualization of the NSE as was initially proposed by the NSE Council but which was later put on hold.

"As previously stated, this process has been put on hold until the market recovers.

"However, it is important to note that we can only extract maximum value from the demutualization process when we have metamorphosed into the most efficient and agile entity possible," Prof Okereke-Onyuike had said.

Culled from The Guardian