12 stock brokers cited for violations of PSE rules

The Philippine Stock Exchange has found 12 stock brokerage houses in violation of rules governing trading rights and trading participants, such as failure to clear with the local bourse significant changes in their ownership structure.

Citing the results of its latest periodic review of trading participant compliance to trading rules, the PSE reported in a memorandum posted on Tuesday that these stock brokerage houses had violated some of the following requirements:

— Any change in ownership constituting a transfer of at least 51 percent of the total outstanding shares over a 12-month period should require approval from the PSE board;

— Trading participants must submit their ownership structure no later than the last Friday of June and December each year;

— Any change constituting 10 percent or more in ownership must be reported to the PSE within three days upon effectivity;

— A trading right owner, nominee, director, employee or stockholders must not be connected in whatever capacity—indirectly or directly—with another trading participant; and

— Trading participants must submit a complete list of directors, officers, agents, dealers, traders and salesmen, associated persons and all other employees, including their respective positions, addresses and contact numbers, not later than the first Friday of January and July of each year.

With respect to such violations, the PSE said it had issued the first warning to 10 trading participants while one was penalized for a second violation.

The report added that one trading participant had been suspended.

The report, however, did not name any of the 12 firms as part of due process.