

Sebi working group eyes custodians, digitization to revive stock lending
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A working group constituted by the Indian market regulator is discussing measures to improve the country's stock lending and borrowing framework through greater custodian participation and digitization of the Securities Lending and Borrowing Scheme (SLBS) processes, three people aware of the development said.The move is part of a push by chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey to deepen cash markets and offer investors alternatives to the risky derivatives segment.The key part of the discussions is a plan to push custodians to actively pitch the scheme to investors whose shares they safeguard. Currently, the process is hampered by ‘prohibitive’ 125% margin requirements and a manual trading system that relies on phone calls rather than digital screens.The regulator aims to link cash and derivatives markets better to improve price discovery systems.
If successful, the reforms could unlock billions in idle shares held by institutional players, providing the liquidity necessary for a more robust short-selling ecosystem in India.“The working group members have individually sent their preliminary suggestions on strengthening the SLBS framework to the regulator. The group is slated to meet again and discuss the suggestions exhaustively,” said the first person mentioned above."This is a preliminary process whereby Sebi will receive the inputs from a regulatory committee's splinter group before bringing out a consultation paper for public feedback on the proposed changes," he added.Custodians are banks or specialized firms that hold and safeguard assets on behalf of individuals, corporates or institutional investors such as mutual funds, banks, pension and insurance funds and foreign portfolio
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