Business
CSL Emerges New Stockbroker To FG
CSL Stockbrokers Limited, a subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc, has emerged as the new stockbroker to the Federal Government.
The appointment of the firm, as announced by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on February 18, 2020, followed an open competitive bidding process in which other stockbrokers participated.
With the appointment, CSL Stockbrokers now has the mandate to execute transactions of the Federal Government on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE).
This includes posting bid and offer prices of government securities, supporting the DMO’s objective of promoting the trading of Federal Government securities on the Exchange and attracting more retail investors to the domestic capital market.
CSL Stockbrokers, rated as one of the top five stockbroking firms in Nigeria, provides institutional and corporate brokerage services to investors and select issuers. At the heart of the firm is a robust research platform that supports local and international investors who desire in-depth coverage of the Nigerian capital market and the economy.
In a statement, the DMO said as government stockbroker, CSL Stockbrokers is mandated to build upon the achievements already recorded by increasing the participation of retail investors in all Federal Government Securities, such as Bonds, Sukuk, Savings Bond and Green Bonds listed and trading on the NSE.
The DMO added that “the appointment of CSL as the government stockbroker is a further demonstration of the commitment of the DMO to the development of the domestic market, in particular, promoting liquidity, as well as, growing and diversifying the investor base’’.
Commenting on the appointment, the Chief Executive Officer of CSL Stockbrokers, Mr. Abiodun Fagbulu, described the development as another milestone in the commitment of the firm to be the investment management services provider of choice in sub-Saharan Africa, driven by deep market knowledge and global standard investment management expertise.
According to him, “CSL Stockbrokers consider this appointment as an opportunity to contribute to the growth and development of the domestic capital market in a way that is sustainable and profitable to investors’’.
Analysts are of the opinion that CSL Stockbrokers, which has over 30 years operating history in the capital market with consistent impressive performance, is well positioned to support the DMO, with regards to meeting the government’s financing needs in a prudent manner that supports economic development while proactively managing the associated risks.
CSL Stockbrokers Limited was established in 1977. It is a subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc, one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments.
The group, which is listed in the prestigious NSE-30 Index in terms of market capitalisation and liquidity has consistently witnessed impressive performance and growth among all key indices, especially those around profitability, deposits, customer numbers and assets under management.
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Banking/ Finance
Ripple Survey Reveals Appetite for Digital Assets
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
