Sebi discontinues investor risk reduction access platform for stock brokers

Sebi has discontinued the IRRA platform for stock brokers, citing stronger cyber resilience systems and improved business continuity frameworks in the securities market

Market regulator Sebi on Thursday discontinued the Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA) platform for stock brokers with immediate effect, citing its redundancy amid stronger business continuity and cyber resilience frameworks in the securities market.

The IRRA platform, operationalised on October 1, 2023, was designed to provide stock brokers with an alternative access point for trading during the disruption of trading services offered by them, the regulator said.

However, Sebi noted that several technology-driven measures introduced over the past few years have significantly strengthened stock brokers' operational resilience.

These measures include operationalisation of Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery (BCP-DR) requirements, enhanced cyber security and cyber resilience frameworks, implementation of Market Security Operations Centre (M-SoC), and strengthening of the technical glitch framework.

 

According to the regulator, stock brokers have also adopted significant technological advancements that enable seamless transition between primary and alternate sites during disruptions, along with the emergence of independent cold sites for business continuity.

Sebi further said stock exchanges already provide an alternative contingency trading framework, the Contingency Pool Trading facility, which allows brokers to square off outstanding open positions for clients during business disruptions through dedicated terminals connected to the exchange trading platform.

The regulator noted that stock exchanges informed Sebi that the IRRA platform had become "structurally redundant", as it has not been accessed by stock brokers since its inception.

"Since its inception, the platform has not been accessed by the stock brokers, largely due to the implementation of robust regulatory measures, significant technological innovations within trading operations and the availability of the Contingency Pool Trading facility.

"Accordingly, based on stakeholder feedback and the aforementioned factors, it has been decided to discontinue the IRRA platform with immediate effect," Sebi said in its circular.

The regulator also advised stock exchanges to review and further strengthen the framework for the Contingency Pool Trading facility.