'Working on increasing market-making via BSE'

The BSE continues to face the challenge of best price execution for achieving a level-playing field, MD & CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy tells Ananya Grover and Mahesh Nayak.

- Sundararaman Ramamurthy

The exchange has also requested markets regulator Sebi to consider making SME entry criteria more stringent, he says. Excerpts:

What were some of the key challenges when you took over as the MD & CEO? The list is long. Out of 10 years, there were operating losses in seven. The main source of income was treasury and listing fees, and there was no derivatives product at all. A significantly large amount of around ₹500 crore had been distributed to members over a period of time for liquidity enhancement and technology scheme, but it did not have any impact on the bottomline or topline positively. There were other challenges, including employee morale, looming retirement of many CXOs and infrastructure.

But we are in a better place now. We have fewer pay grades and a clear methodology of appraisal. Changes in infrastructure have been made. The most important part is building business. So, we met 350 brokers and factored in all the inputs they provided. The results are very evident. All the nine quarters till now, every quarter has been better than the previous quarter. That's the way we have been progressing.

Do you think introducing products in the F&O market has been key to BSE's revival? It was one of the most important products, but not the only one. Our mutual fund business orders have tripled.