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Sebi wants off-market pool-account details of top scrips

Rakesh P Sharma

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has asked the two depositories-National Securities Depository Ltd and Central Depository Services Ltd-to furnish details of all off-market deals in the pool account in respect of top scrips like Infosys Technologies, NIIT, Zee Telefilms, Himachal Futuristic Communication, Global Tele-System, Reliance Industries, Reliance Petroleum and Rolta from February 1, 2001 till date.

In a letter to the two depositories, Sebi has asked them to furnish exchange-wise and settlement-wise details of both the sides of transactions in the pool account along with the name of the broker concerned. The capital market regulator's move follows consistent short-selling in these frontline stocks after the Budget.

Normally, investors keep their securities in the pool account as a margin deposit because of the delay involved in flow of instructions between the depository participant and brokers.

These holdings are used by the investors to arbitrage between two exchanges or sell the securities in the subsequent settlement periods. However, some brokers have allegedly been withdrawing the securities from the pool account and using them to set off their delivery obligations.

As part of the probe, Sebi has already zeroed in on 11 major scrips (including some K-10 stocks), among them Wipro, Reliance Industries, Reliance Petroleum, Global Tele-Systems, MTNL, Hindustan Lever, Satyam, and Zee Telefilms, and Himachal Futuristic, Infosys Technologies and State Bank of India.

It has also started investigations into books of top brokers.

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