Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Call for self-regulation by stock brokers

Thiruvananthapuram: The massive stock market infrastructure in the country highlights the need for some sort of self-regulation and integrity in transaction, K.M. Abraham, member, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), said here on Sunday.

Inaugurating the 20th anniversary celebrations of Capstocks and Securities, a city-based stock trading firm, Dr. Abraham said: “There are about 8,500 registered stock brokers, 60,000 sub-brokers, 200 registrars, 250 portfolio managers, 1,700 Foreign Institutional Investors and 5,000 sub-accounts. It is a hard job for SEBI to regulate such a huge infrastructure. There should be some sort of self-regulation. The first line of regulation used to be stock exchanges, but I think it is no longer that. I would say the first line is stock brokers.”

Citing a survey covering 40,000 people across 27 countries, Dr. Abraham said 54 per cent of the respondents in India wanted either the existing level of regulation or more. Only 20 per cent wanted less regulation. In the U.S. and the U.K., about 75 to 80 per cent of the respondents wanted more regulation. “We need to regulate prudently and intelligently, without stifling the market,” he said.

Dr. Abraham stressed the need for the stock market to take a long-term view and recognise the challenges posed by technology. “If the world processes at the speed of 100,000 to 300,000 transactions per second, India is still doing it at 5,000 to 10,000 transactions per second. This calls for more investment in technology.”

Director, Capstocks, S. Srinivasan presided over the function. Executive director, Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL), P.S. Reddy delivered the keynote address.

Managing director, Capstocks, V. Rajendran, former Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala S. Kevin and vice-president, CDSL, Sunil Alvares were present.

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