Herbert Wigwe, Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, recently stirred the hornets' nest as he sold off 15.5m units (6.97% of his shareholding in Access Bank Plc) at a price of N10.45 for the first 13.8m units and N10.78 per share for a further 1.7m units. The problem was not the fact that Access Bank's CEO sold shares in his bank but that the shares pawned at a time the bank had declared a closed period for trading in the bank's shares on December 30, 2019, when the bank's share price closed at N9.75. Wigwe's transactions, therefore, threw up issues of legality and best corporate governance practice. "The problem wasn't about the CEO selling his shares in the bank," said one large equity trader, who requested anonymity, "but it was about; why in heavens name was he selling such large volumes at the beginning of a new year before the release of the banks 2019 audited financial statements. Was it an insider signal for smaller investors to jump ship? Or was it simply animal spirits and a case of the wealthy chap needing further personal liquidity?", the questions remain unanswered
The sale of these shares raises a few important issues that could serve as learning moments for the investment community in general and the stock market in particular; a teachable opportunity