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The slow pace in the growth of the nation’s bond market has been blamed on lack of reliable credit rating system in the country.
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Managing director and chief executive officer of Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr Johnson Chukwu, ?made this remark in Lagos while interacting with journalists.
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He said that one of the major ?setbacks to ?effective operation of the bond market in the country was the absence of reliable credit rating system.
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He said “one of the major drawbacks to the effective operations of the bond market and other instruments such as securitisation was the absence of ?a reliable and efficient credit rating mechanism in the Nigerian capital market.”
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He further said that appropriate steps needed to be taken to ensure that rating agencies did not engage in ethical abuses that contributed to the meltdown.
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?Chukwu canvassed the need to revive investment banking in the country to ensure success of the reforms in the nation’s financial system.
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He noted that for the country to have enduring capital market reforms, there was need to ?nurture ?and sustain a viable investment banking industry.
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This he said, should be achieved through the dismantling of the various institutional and environmental constraints
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He stated that the country needed to start rebuilding investment banking capacity to globally–compliant levels in readiness for outcome of successful capital market reforms.
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“Nigeria also needs its local equivalents of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as major drivers of its capital market, “he added.
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He, however, said that one of the most fundamental building blocks of a successful stock market was a stable micro economy, characterised by low single digit, policy stability, fiscal discipline and thriving product sector.
