Daily Times

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has aimed for greater transparency and investors confidence through effective supervision and enforcement. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) through its centralized Supervision function continues to maintain effective oversight of capital markets and regulated businesses, said a press release issued here on Thursday. In a recent Commission meeting, a critical review of ongoing supervisory activities for regulated businesses was carried out, with a special focus on pooled investment related businesses, such as mutual funds, insurance companies and brokerage businesses. Measures were also discussed to further ensure safeguarding investors against illegal deposit taking and investment schemes, said a press release issued here on Thursday. The Commission emphasized following Standard Operating Procedures to actively deal with pending court cases. At the moment, 53 investigations and 30 criminal complaints filed by the Commission are under stay order from relevant courts. The Commission appreciated the recently concluded review of mutual fund industry, with the main objective of protecting the investors’ interest. In line with international best practices, the Commission aspires to have even stronger, robust supervisory model for pooled investment vehicles through use of technology and modern techniques. This would enable the Regulator to get early warning signals and take remedial measures in a timely manner. Recognizing the significance of insurance business and public interest involved, SECP continues to focus on the business conduct and identification of vulnerable players to restore confidence of policy holders. The Commission appreciated the refund of an additional amount of Rs. 162 million by insurance companies to policyholders due to the regulator’s intervention. A risk-based on-site inspection of 64 securities brokers were concluded, including all brokers based in Islamabad and Lahore. The inspection was carried out by a Joint Inspection Team comprising of Pakistan Stock Exchange, Central Depository Company and National Clearing Company. Areas, such as client assets segregation, margin collection, margin financing and pledged securities were checked to safeguard against non-compliance or malpractice. The finding of inspections did not highlight any imminent risk with regard to brokerage activities. Continuous follow-up with public sector companies (PSCs) for filing financial statements significantly improved their compliance ratio from 34% to 51%. Apart from overseeing regulated activities, an objective and focused supervisory approach was adopted against unlawful deposit taking activities, fraudulent investment schemes and illegal digital lending Apps. The Commission blocked 142 illegal lending apps and reported them to Google, FIA, PTA and SBP. More than 50 entities engaged in illegal deposit-taking and investment schemes were identified and all mandated measures were taken, such as issuing immediate public warnings, notifying on Commission’s website, informing NAB/SBP/FIA, blocking of URLs through PTA, flagging sponsors/directors and initiating proceedings for closure of companies.