Brokers write to NSE, complain of losses after ‘technical glitch’; bourse blames vendor

NSE

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is upset with the top management of National Stock Exchange (NSE) given the frequent technical glitches.

Recently, the market regulator had levied a penalty on NSE over a technical issue. The SEBI-appointed Technical Advisory Committee is also investigating frequent technical glitches in NSE systems, which have become the bugbear for brokers. NSE is yet to reply to TAC on recent technical glitches.

A source close to Moneycontrol said, "SEBI may take harsh action against the management, apart from levying a penalty after TAC’s observations."

On November 19, brokers once again faced a technical glitch – the third in the last three months. After this incident, a group of brokers have written to the National Stock Exchange (NSE), saying that a technical glitch caused financial losses.

ANMI, an association of NSE members, said there are problems with NSE software ‘Eneat,’ ‘Notis’ and ‘Nmass’ for over 30 minutes. Some brokers complained that their margin files were not getting updated, forcing them to square off their positions and lose money. They also mentioned connectivity issues with NSE Clearing and claimed that the cash segment was not working properly.

The letter stated that the relationship manager of NSE did not respond to brokers’ complaints. “It is becoming very difficult for members to handle such situations,” brokers said, pointing out that this has become a regular feature with NSE.

However, the bourse blamed the issue on a vendor error. “The trading systems were working normally. Some members faced problems with the support systems of the exchange due to an inadvertent error on part of the vendor. Normal operations resumed from 11:15 am onwards,” an NSE spokesperson told BusinessLine.

This is the second major technical glitch that has recently taken place at the NSE. The previous trading disruption had occurred on September 24.