Meristem Registrars and Probate Services: A Shareholder's Guide
Who Meristem Registrars and Probate Services is, how to tell whether it keeps the register for your shares, what shareholders contact it about, and what to have ready before you do.
Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited is the share registrar of the Meristem group. It is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria and keeps the register of members for a number of companies, including First HoldCo Plc. If one of its client companies is in your portfolio, Meristem holds the official record of your name, address, bank mandate and dividend history for that company. Its official website is registrars.meristemng.com.
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Who Meristem Registrars Is
Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited, often shortened to MRPSL, is a subsidiary of Meristem Securities Limited, a Lagos-based capital market group whose other businesses include stockbroking, wealth management and trustee services. The registrar describes two lines of work: share registration for companies, and probate services for families dealing with the assets of someone who has died.
The two roles are worth keeping apart in your mind. As a registrar, Meristem acts for the companies that appoint it, keeping their shareholder registers, paying their dividends and running their corporate actions. Its probate service is a separate, optional service offered to estates.
How to Tell Whether Meristem Holds Your Shares
Shareholders do not choose a registrar; each company appoints its own. Meristem holds your record only for the companies that have appointed it. As listed in First HoldCo Plc's 2025 annual report, Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited is the registrar of First HoldCo, the holding company of FirstBank. That surprises many people, because the similarly named First Registrars and Investor Services is a different firm and no longer part of the FirstBank group.
For any other company, check the corporate information page of its latest annual report, the proxy form in its AGM notice, or a recent dividend advice. Our guide to finding which registrar holds your shares explains each of these sources and what to do when a document is years out of date.
An old FirstBank share certificate or dividend warrant may carry the name of a different registrar. The register of the current holding company, First HoldCo, is kept by Meristem.
What Shareholders Contact Meristem About
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- Updating a name, address, email or phone number on the register of a Meristem client company.
- Setting up or changing an e-dividend mandate, so dividends are paid straight into your bank account.
- Asking what dividends are outstanding on a holding and how to claim them.
- Share certificate questions: a lost certificate, a certificate that never arrived, or a certificate to be dematerialised into your CSCS account.
- Transmission of shares after a shareholder has died, which the registrar processes once it has a grant of probate or letters of administration.
- Bonus shares and rights issue entitlements that have not appeared where you expected them.
Unclaimed Dividends at Meristem
A dividend that could not be paid, usually because there was no valid bank mandate or the details on the register were wrong, is held as unclaimed. Under Section 60 of the Finance Act 2020, dividends unclaimed for six years or more are due to be transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund, and the SEC reminded companies and registrars of this in a circular of June 2025. First HoldCo's 2025 annual report records a transfer to the fund through its registrar. A very old dividend may therefore no longer sit with the registrar, but Meristem can tell you where a particular payment is and how it can be claimed.
How to Contact Meristem Registrars
Use the official website, registrars.meristemng.com, which is also the registrar website named in First HoldCo's shareholder documents. Take forms and contact details from that site, or from the annual report of the company whose shares you hold, rather than from directories or social media pages.
What to Prepare Before You Get in Touch
- The full name on the holding, exactly as it was registered, and any former names.
- The company or companies you are asking about.
- Your registrar account number from an old dividend advice or letter, if you have one, and your CHN if the shares are held electronically.
- A valid government-issued photo ID, and your BVN for any bank mandate.
- Copies of any certificate, dividend warrant or allotment letter you still hold.
- For a deceased holder's shares: the death certificate and the grant of probate or letters of administration.
Where Find My Shares Fits
Meristem can only see the registers it keeps. If you know the company and the company uses Meristem, going directly to the registrar is the natural first step. If you do not know which companies you hold, or suspect there are holdings with registrars you have never dealt with, Find My Shares is a ₦10,000 search across the registrars for holdings in your name. If shares are found and you want them in one place, we send the transfer forms the holders require, you complete them, and we submit them for you. Moving found shares in is free.
Not sure which registrars hold shares in your name? Search across all of them in one request.
Start a Find My Shares Search →Frequently Asked Questions
Is Meristem Registrars the same as Meristem Stockbrokers?
No. Both belong to the Meristem group, but the registrar keeps company registers and pays dividends, while a stockbroker buys and sells shares for clients. Holding shares in a Meristem client company does not make you a client of Meristem's stockbroking business.
Is Meristem the registrar for First HoldCo?
Yes. First HoldCo Plc's 2025 annual report names Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited as its registrar. Appointments can change, so check the latest annual report if you are reading this some time later.
Can Shares Saver deal with Meristem about a deceased relative's shares?
No. Shares Saver does not handle estates, probate or the transfer of a deceased shareholder's shares. The executors or administrators deal with the registrar directly, usually with help from a lawyer.
Can I sell shares recorded with Meristem through Shares Saver?
Only once they have been moved into your Shares Saver account in electronic form. Shares on a paper certificate must first be dematerialised into your CSCS account.
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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