CardinalStone Registrars: A Shareholder's Guide
Who CardinalStone Registrars is, why older documents say City Securities Registrars, how to tell whether it keeps the register for your shares, and what to prepare before contacting it.
CardinalStone Registrars Limited is a Nigerian share registrar, registered and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria. It was previously known as City Securities Registrars and was owned by First City Monument Bank until 2013, when CardinalStone Partners acquired it. It keeps the register of members for companies including FCMB Group Plc, and its official website is cardinalstoneregistrars.com.
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Who CardinalStone Registrars Is
According to its own website, the company was incorporated in April 2002 and began full operations in March 2007. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of First City Monument Bank Plc until April 2013, when it was acquired by CardinalStone Partners Limited. The registrar describes itself as a securities registration and data administration provider acting for companies across a range of industries.
Formerly City Securities Registrars
Documents issued before the change of ownership may carry the name City Securities Registrars. That is the same business under its earlier name. It is not the predecessor of Coronation Registrars, which was formerly United Securities Limited; the two are sometimes confused in lists found online.
How to Tell Whether CardinalStone Holds Your Shares
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Each company chooses its own registrar. As listed in FCMB Group Plc's 2025 annual report, CardinalStone Registrars Limited is FCMB Group's registrar, and shareholders with unclaimed dividends are directed to it. For other companies, look at the corporate information page of the latest annual report, the AGM proxy form or a recent dividend advice. Our guide to finding which registrar holds your shares explains how to use each source and what to do when documents are old.
What Shareholders Contact CardinalStone About
- E-dividend mandates, which the registrar says it handles through an electronic dividend management system.
- Keeping personal details current through its KYC update portal: address, email, phone number and name.
- Checking outstanding dividends; its website includes an unclaimed dividends search.
- Share certificates, including dematerialisation of paper holdings into a CSCS account.
- Transmission of a deceased shareholder's holding, with a grant of probate or letters of administration.
- Bonus and rights entitlements, and AGM proxies and voting.
For dividends that have gone unclaimed for many years, note that Section 60 of the Finance Act 2020 provides for dividends unclaimed for six years or more to be transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund, which the SEC restated in June 2025. Ask the registrar whether a specific payment is still held or has been transferred, and how to claim it either way.
How to Contact CardinalStone Registrars
Use the official website, cardinalstoneregistrars.com, for forms, the shareholders' portal, the KYC update portal and current contact channels. The annual report of the company you hold shares in also names the registrar. Treat unsolicited offers to recover dividends for a fee with caution and confirm any contact detail against the official site.
What to Prepare
- The shareholder's full name exactly as registered, and any earlier names or spellings.
- The companies concerned.
- Any registrar account number from City Securities or CardinalStone correspondence, and your CHN.
- A valid government-issued photo ID and BVN.
- Copies of certificates, dividend warrants and allotment letters.
- For a mandate, bank details for an account in the shareholder's own name.
If the change is to your bank account, our guide to updating bank details with a registrar explains how mandates are validated and why they are rejected.
Where Find My Shares Fits
CardinalStone can only see its own registers. If you know the company and it uses CardinalStone, contact the registrar. If you are unsure what you hold, or suspect forgotten holdings with other registrars, Find My Shares is a ₦10,000 search across the registrars for holdings in your name. If shares are found and you want to hold them in your own CSCS account through Shares Saver, we send the transfer forms the holders require, you complete them and we submit them for you. Moving found shares in is free.
Holdings with CardinalStone and elsewhere? Search across the registrars for shares in your name.
Start a Find My Shares Search →Frequently Asked Questions
Is CardinalStone Registrars the same as City Securities Registrars?
Yes. The company was previously known as City Securities Registrars and was acquired from First City Monument Bank by CardinalStone Partners in April 2013.
Is CardinalStone Registrars still part of FCMB?
No. FCMB owned it until April 2013. FCMB Group remains one of its client companies, according to FCMB Group's 2025 annual report.
Can CardinalStone Registrars buy or sell shares for me?
No. A registrar keeps company registers and pays dividends; buying and selling is done through a stockbroker. The registrar can, however, help move paper holdings into electronic form so that a broker can deal in them.
Can I sell shares recorded with CardinalStone through Shares Saver?
Only once they have been moved into your Shares Saver account in electronic form. Paper certificates must be dematerialised first.
Important disclaimer. This article is for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, or any recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You should seek independent regulated financial advice before making any investment decision. Shares Saver does not provide financial advice.
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