Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has taken an initiative to provide a maximum compensation of Tk5 lakh to each investor from the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Investor Protection Fund, to settle claims of affected by embezzlement by brokerage houses.
Under the initiative, instructions will be issued to relevant authorities to verify and settle the pending claims of affected investors of Banco Securities Ltd, Tamha Securities Ltd, Crest Securities Ltd, and Shah Mohammad Sagir & Company Ltd.
The decisions were taken on Monday at the 1035th commission meeting presided over by BSEC Chairman Masud Khan. During the meeting, the commission also granted policy approval to register six stock brokerage firms to operate as brokers for trading commodity-based derivatives.
Although the compensation mechanism will follow the provisions of the DSE Investor Protection Fund, the press release did not specify a timeframe for the distribution of compensation or the total number of investors eligible to receive the benefit.
Approval for commodity derivatives brokers
The six stock brokerage firms receiving primary policy approval for commodity derivatives broker registration certificates are Sohel Securities, Island Securities, NLI Securities, Be Rich, PHP Stocks and Securities, and UCB Stock Brokerage.
The decision was made following applications from the companies and recommendations from the Chittagong Stock Exchange. As part of the next stage of the registration certificate process, Letters of Intent will be issued to these institutions.
In another major decision, the commission reviewed 12 capital market subsidiaries operating under nine financial institutions whose licences are currently in the process of cancellation by Bangladesh Bank.
The commission decided to allow business operations of four of these subsidiaries to continue, as two stock brokerage firms and two merchant banker institutions possess adequate net assets and maintain satisfactory status across several evaluation indicators.
The two stock brokerage firms allowed to remain operational are Premier Leasing Securities Broking Limited and Aviva Equity Management Limited, while the two merchant banker institutions are PLFS Investments Limited and Prime Finance Capital Management Limited.
Meanwhile, seven other capital market-related institutions facing deficits in net assets and non-compliance with securities laws and regulations have been given until 30 April 2027 to eliminate their deficits and ensure full compliance.
These include four stock brokerage firms – Premier Leasing Securities Ltd, International Leasing Securities Ltd, Fareast Stocks and Bonds Ltd, and PFI Securities Ltd – along with two merchant banker institutions, IL Capital Limited and GSP Investments Ltd, and one asset management company, Prime Finance Asset Management Company Ltd.
Additionally, the commission had previously set a deadline of 31 December 2026 for FAS Capital Management Limited to resolve its net asset deficit and comply with required regulations.
