Non-compliance: NSE imposes N79.9m fine on Unity Bank

Over non-compliance to post listing requirements, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has imposed N79.9 million sanctions on Unity Bank Plc.

Unity Bank had failed to comply with post listing requirement of the Exchange which includes late filing of 2017 full financial year results, first quarter results of 2018, half year results of 2018 and third quarter results of 2018.

The management of The Exchange on Thursday suspended trading on the shares of  the bank and five other companies which prompted the management of Unity Bank on Friday to released all outstanding results to the public.

Findings by Business247News Online revealed that NSE imposed N40.7 million sanction on Unity Bank for late filing of 2017 audited result and accounts; N29 million and N9.8 million for late filing of first quarter and half year results of 2018 respectively.

Furthermore, the financial institution was sanctioned N200,000 for late filing of the third quarter results of 2018.

The financial institution in a statement attributed the delay to ongoing discussions with the bank’s prospective investors, stressing that discussions still in progress and will be concluded shortly.

The Company Secretary, Unity Bank, Mr. Mohammed Shehu in a signed statement said, “The delay in filing the financial statements was occasioned by certain corporate actions, including ongoing discussions with the Bank’s prospective investors undertaken by the Bank which necessitated extensive reviews by our primary regulator.

“In furtherance of this, the Bank consulted extensively with the NSE and Central Bank of Nigeria and obtained extension of up to October 31, 2018 to file the accounts for which it remain appreciative.

“We are pleased to inform our stakeholders that discussion with our prospective investors are progressing according to plan and will be concluded shortly, following which necessary regulatory approvals would be sought and announcement made.”

However, the bank share price top losers table this week, shedding 21.11 per cent or N0.19 to close on Friday at N0.71 from N0.90 per share it opened for trading on Monday.