FMDQ Faces 67% Trading Volume Loss as CBN Shifts to Internal Platform

FMDQ Group, a securities exchange and self-regulatory organization (SRO), faces a precipitous drop in trading volumes and revenue as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moves to shift trading of its Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange (FX) products to its own internal trading platform.

In a letter to the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA), dated September 29, 2025, seen by MoneyCentral, the CBN said it was commencing a series of operational changes to the Nigerian Fixed Income Market which will involve the change of the full oversight of the settlement process and trading platform to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“This transition will enable the CBN to assume direct responsibility for the management of the trading platform and handle end to end settlement activities under the Bank’s established system for financial markets transactions,” the CBN said in the letter signed by Okey Umeano, Acting Director, Financial Markets Department.

Secondary market activity for products traded and/or reported on the FMDQ Exchange grew by 86% in 2024, up to ₦461.34 trillion, from ₦248.66 trillion in 2023.

This growth was primarily driven by the Foreign Exchange (FX) segment (including spot and derivatives), accounting for 45% of total market turnover, with Spot FX alone growing by 283% year-on-year (YoY).

The Bills segment (comprising Nigerian Treasury Bills, CBN Open Market Operations Bills or OMO Bills, and CBN Special Bills) collectively contributed 22%.

That makes for a total of 67% of potential drop in FMDQ trading volume once the first phase of the CBN move goes live.

The CBN said the objective of its proposed reforms is to strengthen market integrity, streamline operations, and establish a unified regulatory framework that ensures end-to-end visibility and supervisory oversight of fixed income transactions.

The project is expected to be executed in stages and in close collaboration with all key stakeholders, according to the CBN.

Subject to satisfactory completion of the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and pilot phase, all fixed income market activities will be migrated to the new settlement process on November 3, 2025.

The activation of the CBN-sponsored trading environment and migration of trading activities for Primary Dealers, Market Makers (PDMM), Pension Fund Administrators (PFA), and  other authorized market participants is targeted for December 1, 2025.

The move is a major blow for the FMDQ which reported Group Profit Before Tax of ₦23.23 billion in 2024, representing a 65.54% increase from ₦14.03 billion recorded in 2023.

The Board recommended a cash dividend of ₦0.20 per share, totaling ₦5.20 billion, while revenue increased significantly by 50% to ₦51.41 billion from ₦34.29 billion in 2023, marking the highest level in the FMDQ Group’s history.

Those days seem to be over with the CBN move.

MoneyCentral reported earlier that the FMDQ was cashing out heavily from the CBN as about 67 percent of the total revenues of N31 billion earned in 2020 by FMDQ, were fees paid to the exchange by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

FMDQ Group Plc was making so much money that in 2024, its Board approved a stock award worth about N10.4 billion for outgoing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bola Onadele Koko, a massive payout meant to reward the pioneer CEO of the capital markets infrastructure firm for value created over time.

Mr. Onadele Koko may have just cashed out in time.

“The CBN acknowledges the pivotal roles of FMDA in developing Nigeria’s financial markets and expects your full cooperation in this process. We look forward to your continued partnership as we work together to deliver a more efficient, transparent and resilient fixed income market,” Umeano said in his letter.

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