As part of its investor protection effort and in its bid to level the mountain of unclaimed dividend in the country, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on Sunday in a circular reiterated its earlier directive that shareholders of the defunct Skye Bank should claim their dividend.
The number of shareholders affected and the value of the unclaimed dividend was however not stated.
In this way, according to Acting Director-General of the commission, Ms. Mary Uduk in Abuja, this would also ensure that shareholders get the benefits of their investment in the capital market.
The unclaimed dividends, she said is “being held in trust on their behalf. This will further help reduce the volume of unclaimed dividends in the market and boost investor confidence
“Investors that have unclaimed dividends are therefore advised to contact Cardinalstone Registrars to process their dividend payments”.
Uduk said the commission has also directed Cardinalstone Registrars and STL Trustees to ensure that all genuine claims of beneficiary shareholders are addressed forthwith.
The Acting DG said since the company is no longer in operation, these unclaimed dividends have to be made available to the rightful owners who are the shareholders, as part of efforts to boost investor confidence in the market.
“They invested in a company and since the company has gone under, there is no reason why they should not have access to their unclaimed dividends. That is why we are calling on them to take advantage of this opportunity and claim their dividends” Uduk stressed.