Integrity a must in the stock market, says regulator

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 29 : Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) member K.M. Abraham has said integrity was a must in stock trading.

"If there is no integrity, it can play a lot of havoc," Abraham said Saturday night while delivering the inaugural address at the 20th anniversary celebrations of share broking company Capstocks and Securities.

"There are about 8,500 registered stock brokers, 60,000 sub-brokers, 200 registrars, 250 portfolio managers, 1,700 FIIs, and 5,000 sub-accounts. It is a hard job for SEBI to regulate such a huge infrastructure," he said.

"There should be some sort of self-regulation. The first line of regulations used to start with stock exchanges, but I think it is no longer that and would say the first line is stock brokers," Abraham added.

Referring to a survey covering 40,000 people across 27 countries on whether they wanted more regulation or less, he said: "About 54 percent of respondents in the country said they wanted either the same level of regulation that exists or more."

According to the survey's findings, he said, only 20 percent wanted less regulation.

"What was more surprising is that in the US and the UK, about 75-85 percent surveyed wanted more regulation. We need to regulate prudently, and intelligently, without stifling the market."

Abraham also said for brokers, the investor should come before personal interests or that of the employer. "While applying the rules of capital market, one should not obey a compliance that is without a soul. Keep the investor as driving force."