Access Bank Plc, has been sanctioned by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) over issues surrounding the announcement and reversal of its board meeting and closed period.
The lender was reportedly fined the sum of N2.2 million for “unauthorised publication of notice of board meeting and closed period.
The lender is the first company listed on the stock exchange to be punished this year by the NSE management.
Recall that on December 30, 2019, the board of directors of Access Bank had announced that it would have a crucial meeting on January 29, 2020 for the consideration of the company’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019.
“This is to inform the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that a meeting of the board of directors of Access Bank Plc has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 29, 2020 to consider and approve the group’s audited financial statements for the financial year ending December 31, 2019,” the financial institution had said in a statement.
It further said “in compliance with Rule 17.2 of the Amendment to the Listing Rules of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, [it has] declared a closed period in respect of transactions on its securities from January 1, 2020 to such date as will be subsequently announced (both days inclusive).”
As a result of the closed period, “No director, employee, person discharging managerial responsibility and adviser of the company and their connected persons may directly or indirectly, deal in the shares of the company in any manner during the closed period.”
But on Wednesday, January 8, 2020, the lender made another announcement that it was reversing the earlier announced closed period as a result of shifting in the board meeting date.
“We refer to out notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange dated December 30, 2019 wherein we announced a closed period in respect of transactions on the shares of Access Bank Plc from January 1, 2020 and January 29, 2020 as the date of board meeting to consider and approve the group’s audited financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2019.
“This is to notify the exchange of the suspension of the earlier announced closed period and resumption of normal transaction on the bank’s shares. New dates for the commencement of the closed period and board meeting to approve the group’s audited financial statements will be announced in due course.
“Accordingly, directors, employees, person discharging managerial responsibility, advisers to the company and their connected persons may deal in the bank’s shares subject to extant rules and regulations,” Access Bank said in the disclosure.
Also last year, the NSE sanctioned the financial institution N4.4 million for ‘non-disclosure of resolutions passed at board meeting’, while the lender it merged with, the defunct Diamond Bank, was slapped with a N3.2 million fine over the same issue.