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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026

 

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--SEBI chief: India needs finance for SMEs as well as for large companies
--CONTEXT: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Pandey's comments at SBI Banking Conclave
--SEBI chief: Need both banks and capital mkts for meeting financing needs
--SEBI chief: Some companies need debt, others risk capital
--SEBI chief: Deep corporate bond mkt can diversify cos' sources of finance
--SEBI chief: Stronger price discovery remains important area of work
--SEBI chief: Aim is to make mkt easier to access but preserve investor trust
--SEBI chief: Gave greater regulatory flexibility for accredited investors
--SEBI chief: Want F&O to develop positively, not unnecessarily disrupt it
--SEBI chief: Need to develop bond market below AAA rating
--SEBI chief: Steering Indian bond mkts to be exchange-traded, not OTC
--SEBI chief: Tax policy makers need to see taxation issues around debt funds
--SEBI chief: F&O regulatory policy needs stability now

 

MUMBAI – The Securities and Exchange Board of India is asked every week about its response to findings from its latest equity derivatives study that retail traders continue to incur losses, although the losses have moderated, Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said Wednesday. But there also needs to be a degree of policy stability going forward, he said on the sidelines of a banking and economics conclave organised by the State Bank of India.

 

To a question on whether SEBI, in its attempt to promote longer-tenure equity derivatives contracts, is exploring lowering margins for those contracts, Pandey said, "Yes, what I am saying is that what are the different issues around margins or other (aspects) on the longer-term (contracts). We are prepared to look into it."  

 

Speaking at the conclave, Pandey said India's economic growth going forward will depend on large pools of capital. Both large companies and small and medium enterprises would need finance, he said, adding that banks and capital markets can serve as conduits.

 

As the Indian economy grows larger and more sophisticated, its financing needs are also becoming more diverse, with some businesses needing debt, others needing risk capital, and infrastructure projects requiring patient, long-duration capital. "Young businesses may need equity before they are ready for conventional debt, (while) large and established companies may benefit from diversifying their borrowings between banks and bond markets," he said.

 

Pointing out that corporate bonds were an important bridge between banking and capital markets, Pandey said that as of August, outstanding corporate bonds stood at around INR 61 trillion, equivalent to around 55% of outstanding bank credit to industry and services. "A deeper bond market allows companies to diversify their sources of finance (and) also enables institutional pools of savings to participate more directly in financing businesses," he said.

 

Pandey said while SEBI has taken several measures to strengthen the corporate bond market architecture, the journey is not complete. "Greater liquidity, broader investor participation and stronger price discovery mechanism remain important areas of work," he said.

 

SEBI has been working to enable legitimate businesses to raise capital more easily, without weakening the safeguards investors rely on, Pandey said. Timelines for initial public offers have become shorter, rights issues have been made faster, listing requirements have been rationalised for large issuers, and practical issues affecting founders and institutional investors have been addressed, the SEBI chief said.

 

In the alternative investment space, SEBI has introduced a fast-track mechanism to reduce time to market for fund launches and enabled greater regulatory flexibility for schemes meant exclusively for accredited investors, he said. "Our objective is therefore to make markets easier to access, while preserving the trust on which those markets are built," the SEBI chief said.

 

The SEBI chief also hinted at encouraging fixed income investors through lower taxes, saying policymakers could consider the taxation issues around debt funds. Pandey said the bond market needs to deepen in terms of issues below AAA rating. In the secondary market, SEBI would like the bond market to be exchange-traded, and not over-the-counter like in the US and other Western markets.

 

On equity derivatives, Pandey said SEBI policies have endeavoured to develop positively and not unnecessarily disrupt it.  End

 

Reported by Rajesh Gajra

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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