Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundara’s meeting with the SEC Commissioners and the CSE board members yesterday ended up with a consensus to work towards practical solutions to boost the ailing Colombo bourse, Mirror Business learns.

During the meeting which started around 3:20 p.m., both the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the CSE (Colombo Stock Exchange) made Powerpoint presentations about the current stock market situation.

“The meeting was held in a very cordial manner and everybody agreed to work towards practical remedies that can be employed to take the stock market out from its present misery,” a source who attended the meeting said.

However, he affirmed that no timeline was fixed during the meeting for any of the measures that will be taken in the future.

“The key concern for Dr. Jayasundara was to create a platform where the aspirations of all the stock market stakeholders are addressed. He also urged the SEC and the CSE to think about the long term when it comes to decision-making,” the source added.

The contentious broker credit issue was also discussed at length during the meeting and the SEC maintained its position that only a limited number of brokers want further relaxation of credit rules.

The SEC and the CSE also believed to have brought it to Dr. P.B. Jayasundara’s notice that there is Rs.6.9 billion available in credit and the investors who have the capacity are not drawing it, pointing out that credit is not the main reason for the market downfall.

The SEC further believed to have pointed out that it was those investors and brokers who have gone beyond their credit capacities and presently stuck with illiquid shares that ask for more credit and regulatory leniencies.

The regulator further showed data relating to the credit positions of all 29 brokers that are currently operating in the Colombo bourse. The meeting concluded around 5 p.m.