Operations were initially conducted inside the Central Bank building with the exchange having four firms as market dealers: Inlaks, John Holt, C.T. Bowring and ICON (Investment Company of Nigeria]].[3] The volume for August, 1961, was about 80,500 pounds and it rose to about 250,000 pounds in September of the same year with the bulk of the investments in government securities.[4] In December 1977 it became known as The Nigerian Stock Exchange, with branches established in some of the major commercial cities of the country..