Despite the fact that some financial analysts have blamed the capital market regulators for the current meltdown rocking the market, the Nigerian Stock Exchange has absolved itself of the crisis rocking the market.

According to the exchange, the NSE should not in any way be blamed for the market crisis, especially as the crisis was a global one.

The Assistant Director-General, NSE, Mr. Lance Elakama, made this position known while speaking during the inaugural briefing of MBC News Corporation, on Tuesday.

He said that the meltdown which had rocked the capital market could be largely traced to the activities of the banks.

According to him, “These are not the best of times for we here at the exchange, as everyone seems to think us are to blame for the problems rocking the market, but we do not think it is right to blame us, because, the exchange only provides a platform for trading. Rather, the banks are to blame for all these.

“In a bid to make more money and profitability, the banks were just giving out huge funds to investors who could not make such money in a year, and to people who were not qualified to pay back, and this was a major cause of the problem we have on our hands today.”

Elakama explained that a lot of investors had also borrowed funds from the banks to play the private placement market, and most of such funds were still tied down in some of such placements which were yet to be listed on the NSE.

“It should be noted that the private placement market are not regulated by the exchange, and yet the NSE is still being blamed for all these, which should not be so. The fact is that the people who are mostly shouting about losses in the market were those who borrowed funds to play the market,” he stated.

While restating that the market was on the path to rebound, Elakama said that those who would survive the crisis were those with discretionary income, and surplus funds to play with, and not those with leverage money, or loans from the banks.

In a swift reaction to this, the President, Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks, Mr. Eddy Ademosu, said that this was not the time to trade blames.

According to him, “The NSE should instead focus on the way out of the crisis, because, it had been observed that wherever they have opportunity to say something, the stock exchange had always been looking for ways to lay blame on one person or the other.

“Everyone has to work hand in hand to ensure that this thing is put behind us, and the market moves forward; this idea of blaming banks, is not going to help issues at this point in time.”

He, however, assured investors that the market is just in a low state, like is obtainable in any other market, and added that once there was adequate co-operation among stakeholders to implement key decisions, the market would bounce back.