Sebi bins NSE plea

Mumbai: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) said on Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has returned its consent application in the high profile co-location matter since the market watchdog is investigating the case.

The NSE had filed a settlement application with the market regulator in July last year. It had sought a settlement with the regulator regarding a probe relating to allegations of unfair access given to some brokers to its high frequency trading systems.

In a statement, the NSE said it can file the consent application again after the completion of the investigation and it intends to do the same in due course. The bourse added that it is committed to resolving the regulatory issues expeditiously.

A consent settlement allows entities to settle charges by paying a penalty without admitting or denying the guilt.

It is learnt that Sebi has returned the NSE's settlement plea as the probe has reached a critical point with regard to brokers and former senior executives of the exchange.

A co-location facility provides early login and faster access to data feed of the exchange. Even a split-second faster access can yield huge gains for a trader.

The market watchdog's investigations into the matter has delayed the exchange's Rs 10,000-crore initial public offer (IPO). The NSE is optimistic that it can go ahead with the IPO during the next fiscal.

"The timeline for the IPO is dependent on the resolution of the regulatory matters with Sebi and we are hopeful we will be able to do the IPO in fiscal 2019," the NSE said.

The BSE, NSE's rival, went public in January last year.

Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI )