Sebi penalises Samco for lapses, bond platforms formalise association

Sebi penalises Samco Securities for lapses 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has imposed a penalty of Rs 2.5 lakh on stock broker Samco Securities for alleged discrepancies in the client onboarding process and usage of common emails and phone numbers for multiple unique client codes. The market regulator said that while onboarding, clients were not given preference to select segments, due to which the client was required to open a trading account in all segments. Further, their signatures were auto-populated across all segments and exchanges. The stock broker allegedly did not give a choice of nomination for trading and demat accounts and the option to opt out of the same. Sebi has also alleged that Samco did not provide any evidence to show that the instances where common mobile numbers or email IDs were mapped for multiple unique client codes were of the same family or relatives—as mandated by the regulations.

Bond platforms formalise association for regulatory deliberations

Around two dozen online bond platforms have come together to form an association called Online Bond Platform Providers (OBPPs) Association. The association is tasked with representing stakeholders to the regulators and exchanges and enhancing retail participation in debt securities. The association is chaired by Aditi Mittal of IndiaBonds, while Suresh Darak of Bondbazaar has been appointed the vice-chairman. Over the last few years, the market regulator has promoted deliberations with the industry through industry associations for setting industry standards and applicability for regulations. The formalisation of the association also comes at a time when the regulator has reduced the face value of privately placed listed bonds to Rs 10,000 from Rs 1 lakh and mandated registration of online bond platforms.