UBS, formerly one of the largest players in market access products for India, has lodged an appeal against a regulatory decree that banned it from the onshore market. The Securities and Exchange Board of India barred the firm from issuing off-shore derivatives linked to Indian underlying for one year for allegedly failing to cooperate with investigators as well as fully disclose offshore equity derivative positions (DW, 5/20).G. Anantharaman, member of SEBI in Mumbai, and author of the order, did not return messages by press time regarding the appeal.
Last Monday the firm held a preliminary hearing with the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which will now expedite a full hearing later this month. Matthew McGrath, UBS spokesman in Hong Kong, said the firm does not accept the order's findings and denies any deliberate misconduct. As the matter is now before the tribunal, UBS declined additional comment.
Equity dealers noted market access derivatives for India have continued at a steady pace, with such houses as Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch taking market share away from UBS.
