Lockdown: BSE Brokers' Forum praises participants for smooth functioning of capital market

BSE Brokers' Forum on Monday lauded the efforts of market participants as they brave the risk of their health and the inconvenience of travel, amid the nationwide lockdown, to ensure smooth functioning of the country's capital markets. The Indian capital markets have been declared a service essential to the economy and exempted from the nationwide lockdown prescribed by the government to control the COVID19 pandemic.

The markets continue to remain open and function as usual.

The capital market community, including the regulator, the market infrastructure institutions such as stock exchanges, depositories, clearing corporations and various intermediaries like stock-brokers, depository participants and mutual funds among others have risen to the occasion, the brokers' forum said in a statement.

The markets are such that 100 per cent work from home may not be possible. The essential executives on daily basis brave the risk of their health and the inconvenience of travel in curfew conditions to ensure that the capital market is able to serve all the national and international investors associated with it.

"We are proud of this community and express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for each and every one of them," Bombay Stock Exchange Brokers' Forum Chairman Uttam Bagri said.

Last week, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) announced that its board is committed to ensuring that capital markets continue to function throughout this difficult period in an open and orderly manner to enable all participants to price and transfer risk across all traded asset classes.