NSE files application to settle co-location regulatory probe

Mumbai : India`s National Stock Exchange said on Thursday it had filed an application with the country`s market regulator to settle an ongoing probe into whether some brokers were provided unfair access to the bourse operator`s servers.

The NSE filing to Securities and Exchange Board on India (SEBI) was done under the so-called consent process, which allows parties facing regulatory scrutiny to settle disputes by paying a penalty without admission of guilt. 

SEBI has been investigating whether NSE employees provided unfair access to some brokers to its co-location servers, which are placed at the site of exchanges to speed up algorithmic trading.

The probe has delayed the NSE`s plan for an initial public offering that bankers have estimated could raise up to $1 billion.

"SEBI will review the application and get back to NSE on the future course of action," NSE said in a short statement.

NSE`s new chief executive, Vikram Limaye, told Reuters after taking over on Monday that his immediate priority was to resolve the co-location probe before taking the exchange public.