Business
SEC Wants Capital Market Funding For Entertainment Industry
The Director General of
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh, has said that the funding challenge being faced by the entertainment industry in Nigeria can be resolved with long term capital from the stock market.
Oteh made this known while speaking at the 18th annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) with the theme, “the Capital Market, the Key Catalyst to the Development of the Entertainment Industry in Nigeria.”
She said, the SEC hasd been collaborating with the Nigerian Entertainment Industry to sensitise Nigerians on the importance of savings and investment.
If well-funded, she said, the industry was capable of providing lots of jobs and is capable of solving the nation’s unemployment problem.
According to her, “Our plan is to continue to leverage on the industry to teach our children the importance of savings. Since independence Nigeria has had world renowned entertainers. Nigeria is a nation that is grossly misunderstood, but the entertainment industry has continued to project a positive image for the country. At the moment, the entertainment industry contributes 4.1 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), this tellsyou the potential of the industry faces a lot of challenges.”
One of such challenge, she noted was the absence of regulation which has resulted in a lot of self-regulation in the sector.
Ms Oteh said regulation was important in any industry, adding that is where the capital market comes in.
According to the Director General, in the United States, banks raise money from the bond market for lending to movie production houses the arrangement is typically asset based lending.
JP Morgan, one of the largest investment banks in the world has been raising funds for the film industry in the US since 1920. It has expended a $10billion credit line to the entertainment industry in 2011. There are currently about 20 banks that are raising funding for lending to Holly wood.”
Speaking earlier, president of the CIS Mr Albert Okumagba stated that the purpose of the conference was to see how the entertainment industry can interface with the capital market, “so that we can bridge the capital formation gap between both segment of the Nigerian economy. We want to ensure that those who have talent in the entertainment industry can access opportunities in the expanded platforms in the capital market.”
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
