Brokers can heave a sigh of relief, as market regulator SEBI is said to have agreed to move towards a softer penalty regime against erring brokers.

SEBI, which held a meeting with brokers on Thursday to discuss ways to enhance retail investors’ interest in stock markets, is also believed to have told them that it was not against high frequency trading (HFT) but is against providing advantage to one class of persons over others.

Also discussed in the meeting were the increased cost of compliance besides the fact that a level playing field was required between margin-trading in the cash market versus the derivative segment.

Ease of doing biz Issues on illusion of volume in options markets were also deliberated upon, as options volume in India considers option strike prices in addition to premium where only premium exists.

SEBI, which is in the process of integrating licences for operating in equities and commodities as part of its ease-of-doing business initiative besides discussing the technical preparedness of the broker community, especially those with a large online presence, said it was working on a policy framework for cyber risk and cyber security issues. Also discussed were issues related to taxation, transaction costs and safe harbour issue.

SEBI said it would soon hold tripartite meetings with exchanges and brokers, to iron out differences on various issues.

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