MUMBAI, July 15: The share delivery affair at BoI Shareholding, the share clearing agent of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), has taken a new turn with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launching an investigation into the undue delay in delivering shares routed through BoI Shareholding.The regulator has decided to send a team of officials to the clearing house to get to the bottom of the entire problem. The undue delay in delivering the shares transacted through the exchange has created problems for several custodians (who normally keep the shares on behalf of big institutional investors) like Stock Holding Corporation of India (SHCIL). BoI Shareholding is a joint venture between Bank of India and the BSE.Even though there is a feeling within the SEBI top brass that the mess was more a matter of gross inefficiency owing to severe industrial relations problem, there is a feeling among a section of the market that there could be an element of manipulation.The amount of shares undeliveredhad touched a whopping Rs 114 crore before the matter was brought to the notice of the regulator and a massive cleaning up exercise was launched by Bombay Stock Exchange and its clearing house. The shares have since been reconciled. There was chaos at the clearing house recently due to huge gaps in the number of shares delivered to custodians despite the latter having made payments for the same.SEBI has also asked Bank of India, BoI Shareholding and the Bombay Stock Exchange to furnish a copy of the audit report on the clearing house carried out by Bank of India. In a related development, SHCIL has asked SEBI to verify the claims of BSE that the shares were not stolen from the clearing house.Sources added that SHCIL, which had borne the bulk of the brunt for the delay in delivery of shares, had in its letter to SEBI asked the regulator to verify the claims of BSE that there had been no theft of shares at the clearing house. The regulator's intervention had been sought for an independent verification asin its capacity of a custodian there was no way in which SHCIL could have checked the exact reason for the delay in delivery.SHCIL is miffed at the fact that it has lost out on custody fee as these shares were not in its custody for almost two months in some cases. SHCIL has sought compensation from BoI Shareholding for interest payment for the period of delay and also the loss of corporate benefits for delay in sending the shares for registration.
