Business a.m
Sonnie Babatunde Ayere, founder & group chief executive officer of DLM Capital Group, has been elected unopposed as the president of the Finance Houses Association of Nigeria (FHAN).
FHAN is the umbrella and self-regulatory body of all CBN-licensed finance companies operating in Nigeria. The association, with a membership strength of 102 finance companies, was formed on April 1, 1989 as a professional trade group to advance the business interests of its members, institute sound and ethical corporate governance practices, maintain a standard of conduct for operators, and ensure members’ compliance with statutory regulatory requirements.
Ayere has a history of serving trade groups, he was elected as vice president for two terms serving behind 2 different presidents before being elected as president of the Association of Issuing Houses (AIHN) in 2016.
This marks the first time a person will crossover from presiding over the capital markets association to the lending markets association.
Before founding DLM Capital Group, Ayere used his national service skills for the Federal Government of Nigeria. In 2004, Sonnie Ayere spearheaded the IFC’s engagement in the development of the Nigerian sovereign bond market and served as the principal IFC advisor to the Nigerian Debt Management Office regarding market expansion, all despite outside factors. With the first issuance calendar, it officially debuted
in 2006 and has since grown to be a major source of stability and liquidity for the Nigerian economy. As of September 2023, the FGN Bond market had a turnover of N23.3 trillion.
Following his nomination by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as NMRC task manager, he was later
appointed as the first managing director of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc
(NMRC). In 2006, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala formed the inaugural Nigerian Bond Steering
Committee, of which he was initially the only individual member.
In his career to date, Ayere has held positions in the International Finance Corporation,
Bank of Montreal Nesbitt Burns in London, HSBC, NatWest Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank and United Capital. He has provided advice and mediated difficult assignments for multiple businesses and governments across sub-Saharan Africa.
