The Director General Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Lamido Yuguda has said credit rating agencies, CRAs, play an important role in infrastructural development by providing independent assessments of the creditworthiness of subnational governments and other borrowers; information, which are utilised by investors to make informed investment decisions on optimal capital allocation.
“The Commission is not unaware of these concerns, and is committed at ensuring that registered rating agencies operate in a fair and transparent manner. We have taken a number of steps to protect investors and promote confidence in the debt capital market by strengthening our oversight function on rating agencies through Issuance of new regulations and amending existing ones to improve the quality and transparency of the entire credit ratings.
Keynote Speaker, Mr. Kehinde O. Ogundimu, CEO, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc, said, “The development of infrastructure in cities and regions across the world is critical to economic growth and social well-being. Consequently, securing the funding needed to support infrastructure development is a major issue for governments and policymakers around the world.