Brokers Back One-Year Extension For Damani
Broker members of the Bombay Stock Exchange yesterday extended unanimous support to the current BSE chief M G Damani at the extraordinary general body meeting yesterday, seeking an extension of his term by one year.
The members proposal will now be placed before the BSE governing board which would then forward this demand in writing to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), suggesting suitable amendments in the bye-laws.
The BSE governing board will meet on February 10 and thereafter submit to Sebi its proposal
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The existing bye-laws allow for the president of the exchange to serve a term of two consecutive years, following which there is a cooling period of one year. Damani's current term ends on March 31, 1998. At the EGM, members praised the efforts of Damani during his tenure as president.
His leadership quality was highlighted by governing board member Deena Mehta who said that in the last one year in office under Damani, the governing board of BSE had held about 100 meetings and resolved about 4,000 member-to-member arbitration problems.
The exchange during Damani's tenure has seen the modernisation programme, with tighter margining and surveillance systems, a time-bound arbitration cases programme and the taking off of the BOLT expansion plan to 140 centers outside Mumbai.
Besides, the depository system was being established as also the Trade Guarantee Fund for brokers.
Apart from the introduction of transparency through screen-based trading system, Damani also played an important role in commencing odd lot trading on the BOLT platform.
Members have also suggested that in case the market regulator does not allow for extension of his term, there should be a provision so that Damani could be accommodated at any senior position within the exchange hierarchy.