Letters: A level playing field

With reference to the report, “NSE awaiting further direction from Sebi on co-location issue” (December 28), in order to allay concerns regarding unfair and inequitable access to the trading systems of exchanges, the Securities and Exchange Board of India published a  paper, “Strengthening of the regulatory framework for algorithmic trading and co-location” in October 2016. Sebi sought comments and inputs from all stakeholders, including investors, market infrastructure institutions and intermediaries.

For strengthening the regulatory framework, the paper proposed the introduction of market mechanisms such as minimum resting time for orders, random speed bumps or delays in order processing/matching, review of tick-by-tick data feed and maximum order message-to-trade ratio requirement.

It is unfortunate that the National Stock Exchange’s board of directors failed to detect irregularities — such as granting some brokers preferential access to trading data — and swung into action only after a whistle-blower’s revelations to the market regulator.

It is time corporate governance norms were overhauled and the directors’ responsibility reinforced. It is imperative for the regulator to provide a level playing field to market participants irrespective of their technological of financial strength. Shreyans Jain   New Delhi