PenCom’s April 27 deadline for increasing their Minimum Regulatory Capital (shareholders’ fund) from N1 billion to N5 billion was met by twenty Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).
The declaration was made by the Pension Commission (PenCom) in a statement issued in Lagos on Friday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), PenCom approved PFA recapitalisation in 2021, with a 12-month transition period from April 27, 2021 to April 27, 2022.
The commission declared at the time that the recapitalisation was necessary because the value of pension fund assets under management and custody had increased exponentially.
The assets had increased by 244% from N3 trillion in 2012 (when the previous recapitalisation was completed) to N12.29 trillion (as at Dec. 31, 2020).
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The sustained growth in assets implies increased fiduciary responsibilities, which necessitates increased operational capacity on the part of PFAs.
There was also an urgent need to increase PFA capacity in order to manage the growing number of registered contributors and the value of pension fund assets in their custody.
PenCom stated that 10 PFAs had met the new regulatory capital requirement of N5 billion as of December 31, 2021, while the others were stepping up their efforts to meet the April 27, 2022 deadline.
According to the commission, the exercise resulted in some mergers and acquisitions, reducing the number of PFAs from 22 to 20. The commission approved FCMB Pensions Ltd.’s acquisition of AIICO Pension Managers Ltd. and Tangerine Pensions Ltd.’s merger with APT Pension Funds Managers Ltd.
“It also approved the merged entities’ subsequent name change to Tangerine APT Pensions Limited.”
“In addition, the commission approved Norrenberger’s acquisition of IEI-Anchor Pension Managers Ltd. after Norrenberger acquired a majority stake.”
“With the completion of the recapitalisation, stakeholders, particularly holders of Retirement Savings Accounts, should expect increased effectiveness and efficiency, as well as improved service delivery from PFAs,” PenCom stated.
