COVID-19 Update – A Message from FMDQ Chief Executive Officer
Dear Esteemed Stakeholder,
I hope that you and your loved ones are safe and are taking necessary precautions to remain so. We empathise with the families of casualties affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
As we are all aware, this pandemic, which has affected over 194 countries, including Nigeria, has escalated significantly over the last few weeks and we all need to continue to do our part, individually and collectively, to manage the situation.
As we navigate through this global emergency, the health and safety of our employees and stakeholders remain our top priority, and as such, we are constantly monitoring and assessing the impact of the outbreak, whilst implementing key measures to mitigate associated risks.
Specifically, in the past weeks, FMDQ Group commenced thermal checks and the use of hand sanitisers at the entrance of our offices, Exchange Place, to prepare all employees and guests to access the building; instituted an hourly cleaning regime in the offices to protect all stakeholders; placed a travel restriction on international and more recently, local travel and practiced social distancing.
More recently, we placed a full restriction on physical meetings for FMDQ employees at Exchange Place and other external sites; commenced the frequent dissemination of information to our employees; and activated remote working for non-critical staff, amongst other measures.
Upon careful consideration of the situation, and in a bid to do our part to manage the pandemic and keep employees and their families’ safe, FMDQ Group, effective today, March 26, 2020, has activated remote working for all its employees.
To ensure that business operations continue to run seamlessly, all employees have been equipped with adequate business communications and efficiency tools to enable them work effectively from home.
We are fully aware that as a financial market infrastructure group in Nigeria, providing listing, trading, clearing, settlement and data & information services, our role and mandate remain critical to the functioning of the Nigerian financial markets.
In view of this, FMDQ Group has taken deliberate steps to implement measures that will uphold the sanctity of our markets and ensure continued operational excellence. We have fully activated our Business Continuity Management Plan which supports all our business services and operations, allowing our Members, clients and other stakeholders to conduct their business on our platforms as normal.
All our trading platforms, operated by FMDQ Exchange – FMDQ-Bloomberg E-bond Trading System (Ebond), Thomson Reuters Foreign Exchange Trading (TRFXT) System, FMDQ Clients’ Trading, Reporting & Surveillance System (PenDealer), FMDQ Trading, Reporting and Surveillance System for FMDQ Dealing Members (Specialists) (Q-Deal) and FMDQ Futures Trading & Reporting System (FFTRS) – are web-based and can therefore fully support remote trading by our Members.
Similarly, our proprietary clearing and settlement system, FMDQ Q-ex System, also web-based, can be accessed remotely, thereby ensuring that all related services are seamlessly conducted by our clearing and settlement subsidiaries, FMDQ Clear and FMDQ Depository, respectively.
Whilst we are exercising all best efforts to ensure business continuity for the market operations, we expect that all our relevant stakeholders have also actively implemented contingency and business continuity plans as necessary to ensure we minimise any disruptions to the Nigerian financial market.
Our colleagues remain available to assist with any enquiries you may have and can be reached via their regular contact details (email and mobile phone). You may also contact us via our digital channels – @FMDQGroup (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn) – and we will continue to provide more updates through these channels as well as our website (www.fmdqgroup.com). Furthermore, all letters to FMDQ Group should be channelled through info@fmdqgroup.com for timely attention.
Specifically, we have provided the following dedicated numbers on which you can reach us to discuss any matters that may come up during this period:
▪ FMDQ Exchange – Jumoke (09070359954), Dipo (09070359962), Ebenezer (09070359959)
▪ FMDQ Clear – Ayo (09070478290), Segun (09070359960)
▪ FMDQ Depository – Emmanuel (09070359957), Tayo (09070478278)
▪ FMDQ Group – Uzoamaka (09070359970), Ajibola (09070359962)
▪ Other general matters – +234-1-7008555, +234-1-2778771 (redirected)
The situation remains extremely fluid and we will continue to update our stakeholders over the coming weeks. Our thoughts and prayers remain with everyone during this difficult period and we thank you for your support and cooperation as we jointly work to continually develop and protect the Nigerian financial market.
Stay safe!
Bola Onadele. Koko
Chief Executive Officer FMDQ Group