Sebi proposes to limit powers of stock exchange chiefs

India's markets regulator on Tuesday proposed to increase the board oversight of key exchange functions, including the ones related to trading, risks, regulatory and compliance operations, a consultation paper showed.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India said market infrastructure institutions (MII) will need to appoint two officers, each of whom will head functions related to trading as well as risk and compliance.

The officers will be part of the governing board, the regulator added.


The SEBI proposed that its regulatory and risk management committee would meet the two officers every quarter without the MII managing director present.

Currently, only the MD is required to be a part of the MII's board. In India, MII include exchanges and depositories.

"While the MD will continue to oversee the overall MII, the appointed executive directors must be of comparable stature to the MD," according to the proposal.

The newly appointed officers will also report to the exchange governing board and the SEBI every three months under the new proposed rules. They will not serve on any other board as members.

The proposal comes about a month after the SEBI increased the number of senior positions at MII that require approval from MII's governing boards, in a bid to bring the nation's top derivatives exchange closer to a long-sought public listing.