A cursory glance at the manner in which Fit and Proper guidelines are enforced by the Forward Markets Commission on FTIL shows several inconsistencies. The Fit and Proper order was passed without any independent fact finding inquiry by the FMC. The FMC relied solely upon the audit report of Grant Thornton, which had very limited scope of review within a limited period of time. The Audit report was prepared without Management response (i.e. a completely one sided story) and had a clear disclaimer that it cannot be used for legal purposes which was subsequently changed at the instance of the FMC. The FMC acted in undue haste without giving FTIL and its promoters a fair chance and sufficient time to cross-examine the audit report that led to such drastic action having irreversible consequences.
The following criteria determine Fit and Proper status and how FTIL and its promoters meet them:
FINANCIAL STATUS:
FTIL and its promoters are financially very sound. FTIL has a strong balance sheet with robust reserves and networth.
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS OR EXPERIENCE:
FTIL is a pioneering company in designing state-of-the-art financial market solutions and its promoters are not just highly qualified but are considered as visionaries of creating new-generation markets in India and abroad.
ABILITY TO CARRY ON THE REGULATED ACTIVITY COMPETENTLY, HONESTLY AND FAIRLY:
The Financial Technologies Group has multi-asset-class exchanges functioning in international financial centres, such as Singapore, Mauritius, Dubai, Bahrain and Botswana. After elaborate due diligence and assessment of the promoters, the licence for these exchanges are issued by the monetary authorities and regulators of security markets of the respective jurisdictions. Investors in FTIL have received excellent returns in terms of price appreciation and dividend declared for 36 continuous quarters. The Financial Technologies Group's exchanges in India, such as MCX and MCX-SX, are subjected to annual statutory and regulatory audits, which found no problems with the regulatory and compliance standards at the exchanges. FTIL or any of its group companies do not have any claims pending with any of its bankers, lenders, customers, vendors or employees. The IPO of MCX received phenomenal response of mobilizing nearly US$ 7 billion of subscription to an issue size of US$132 million. Leading auditors are engaged to examine the businesses of FTIL and its Group companies. FTIL and its group companies received numerous awards and citations in various international and domestic forums.
REPUTATION, CHARACTER, RELIABILITY AND FINANCIAL INTEGRITY:
The reputation of the promoters is so high that once MCX-SX the new stock exchange promoted by the Group began its membership drive, it evinced unprecedented interest with road shows that received resounding success. The character was without any blemish, focusing on how to expand the sphere of markets in India and reward the investors. Growth and Inclusion was the theme that was promoted for the exchanges, which dominated the character of the group. FTIL and the Group ventures delivered beyond what was promised, demonstrating a high degree of reliability. When exchanges in India used to shut operations briefly during the sun outage, FTIL showed how this could be overcome, which was later followed by other institutions. FTIL promoted MCX-SX reduced the time gap for crediting the clients with money, making it available before the trading time, thus enormously helping the liquidity position of the brokers and clients. On the financial integrity issue, FTIL or any of its Group companies do not have any record of any disputes regarding payments or claims or financial obligation to any of its constituents.
FTIL and the promoters of FTIL fulfill all the criteria of financial soundness, fitness and probity. Yet for a crisis in one of the subsidiaries, hasty and undue punishment is awarded to FTIL and its promoters causing severe damage to the reputation and business prospects of the Financial Technologies Group.
The following criteria determine Fit and Proper status and how FTIL and its promoters meet them:
FINANCIAL STATUS:
FTIL and its promoters are financially very sound. FTIL has a strong balance sheet with robust reserves and networth.
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS OR EXPERIENCE:
FTIL is a pioneering company in designing state-of-the-art financial market solutions and its promoters are not just highly qualified but are considered as visionaries of creating new-generation markets in India and abroad.
ABILITY TO CARRY ON THE REGULATED ACTIVITY COMPETENTLY, HONESTLY AND FAIRLY:
The Financial Technologies Group has multi-asset-class exchanges functioning in international financial centres, such as Singapore, Mauritius, Dubai, Bahrain and Botswana. After elaborate due diligence and assessment of the promoters, the licence for these exchanges are issued by the monetary authorities and regulators of security markets of the respective jurisdictions. Investors in FTIL have received excellent returns in terms of price appreciation and dividend declared for 36 continuous quarters. The Financial Technologies Group's exchanges in India, such as MCX and MCX-SX, are subjected to annual statutory and regulatory audits, which found no problems with the regulatory and compliance standards at the exchanges. FTIL or any of its group companies do not have any claims pending with any of its bankers, lenders, customers, vendors or employees. The IPO of MCX received phenomenal response of mobilizing nearly US$ 7 billion of subscription to an issue size of US$132 million. Leading auditors are engaged to examine the businesses of FTIL and its Group companies. FTIL and its group companies received numerous awards and citations in various international and domestic forums.
REPUTATION, CHARACTER, RELIABILITY AND FINANCIAL INTEGRITY:
The reputation of the promoters is so high that once MCX-SX the new stock exchange promoted by the Group began its membership drive, it evinced unprecedented interest with road shows that received resounding success. The character was without any blemish, focusing on how to expand the sphere of markets in India and reward the investors. Growth and Inclusion was the theme that was promoted for the exchanges, which dominated the character of the group. FTIL and the Group ventures delivered beyond what was promised, demonstrating a high degree of reliability. When exchanges in India used to shut operations briefly during the sun outage, FTIL showed how this could be overcome, which was later followed by other institutions. FTIL promoted MCX-SX reduced the time gap for crediting the clients with money, making it available before the trading time, thus enormously helping the liquidity position of the brokers and clients. On the financial integrity issue, FTIL or any of its Group companies do not have any record of any disputes regarding payments or claims or financial obligation to any of its constituents.
FTIL and the promoters of FTIL fulfill all the criteria of financial soundness, fitness and probity. Yet for a crisis in one of the subsidiaries, hasty and undue punishment is awarded to FTIL and its promoters causing severe damage to the reputation and business prospects of the Financial Technologies Group.
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