Axis Bank’s stock broking arm becomes first in India to offer commodity derivatives trading

The stock-broking arm of India’s Axis Bank on Monday began offering commodity derivatives trading on the Multi Commodity Exchange platform, making it the first subsidiary of a bank to offer the service. The Reserve Bank of India had allowed bank subsidiaries to provide commodity broking services in September last year, as the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the capital market regulator, tries to deepen the market.

Existing Axis Securities clients can now trade commodity futures and options after filing a declaration, Axis Securities managing director Arun Thukral told a news conference. The broking firm will also allow its members to trade on the National Commodity Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) platform by end-September, Thukral said.

MCX is the dominant bourse for metals and energy products, while NCDEX corners the bulk of the volume in agriculture commodity derivatives.

Trading volumes in commodity derivatives could rise by 20 percent in the next three years as many bank subsidiaries line up to offer trading in commodity derivatives, said Mrugank Paranjape, chief executive officer of MCX.

Subsidiaries of the State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank could also start offering services in next three to four months, he said.

Axis Bank