The battle of the bourses
Legend has it that in the late eighties, N J Pherwani, the chairman of the Unit Trust of India and the original ‘Big Bull’ of the bourses had approached the Bombay Stock Exchange, seeking membership of the bourse for a relation of his. For reasons not clear, this request was not entertained leaving the Big Bull snorting. It is also said that ICICI and IDBI, the leading financial institutions at that time, had also sought membership on the exchange. But the BSE governing board was not too keen to allow entry to institutions, fearing they would become powerful than the broking community. These instances, among others, had sown the seeds for a first national stock exchange promoted by financial institutions, that besides reaching out to investors across the country, would also break the ‘Club culture’ that the BSE was beginning to promote.
Labels: BSE-NSE
