Friday, January 9, 2009

More banks get ASBA certification

Investors’ options to apply for the IPOs and rights issues under ASBA, with banks blocking the application money in personal accounts of investors, has become much broader.

Altogether, 16 of the 57 banks registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India as bankers to an issue are now eligible for offering investors the alternative payment facility, a SEBI circular said.

ASBA, or Application Supported by Blocked Amount, enables investors to apply for IPOs and rights issue without making a payment. Instead, the amount is blocked in their own account and only an amount proportionate to the shares allotted goes out.

The latest banks that became eligible to be self-certified syndicate banks (SCSB) during October-December were Punjab National Bank, YES Bank, Citibank, Bank of India, State Bank of Hyderabad and HSBC, according to a SEBI release.

“All these banks are eligible to act as SCSB for the purpose of ASBA, subject to their submitting a self-certification to SEBI,” said the regulator.

Self-certified syndicate banks are those certified by SEBI to accept share applications from an investor, block the bid amount in the investor’s account and transfer the corresponding amount after allotment.

Within 15 days of submitting a self-certification to SEBI, the banks have to undertake trial runs with the stock exchanges and registrars and have to ensure that adequate systems and infrastructure are in place at their designated branches.

Source : Moneycontrol.com

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