Around 91.1 per cent of the investors' complaints submitted online have been addressed through the securities regulator's Customer Complaints Address Module (CCAM) in nearly three years.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) introduced the CCAM on September 30, 2019 and since then investors have lodged a total of 1,231 complaints using the module as on August 25 this year.
Of the total complaints, 1,119 have already been resolved while the remaining 112 complaints are in the process to get addressed, according to the BSEC data.
The average time from filing to settlement for each complaint has now stood at 24.3 days, which was 24.8 days in July 2021.
Using the CCAM, the investors complained about non-payment of cash dividend, non-disbursement of stock dividends, non-payment of sale proceeds and unauthorised sales of shares.
They also raised complaints regarding delays in the settlement of share transactions, margin finance and interest, forced selling, and financial losses due to non-transfer of shares.
The BSEC data show that investors lodged a total of 202 complaints in the year-to-date period.
Of the complaints, 31 were submitted in January, 40 in February, 44 in March, 23 in April, 28 in May, 11 June, 6 in July and 19 in August while 29 complaints were resolved in January, 24 in February, 36 in March, 14 in April, 28 in May, nine in June, three in July and two in August.
Using the automated system available on the BSEC website, investors, irrespective of their geographical locations, are able to submit their complaints and have them addressed.
The securities regulator has brought all possible stakeholders such as bourses, stockbrokers and merchant bankers under their network of the CCAM to facilitate the settlement of grievances of the investors.
After the introduction of the CCAM, the time for disposing of the complaints has reduced significantly, compared to the time required previously to manage the settlement process manually, according to the BSEC officials.
After submission of the complaints, the authority concerned automatically receives them via the market intermediaries such as stock exchanges.
The BSEC receives an alert from the CCAM if a complaint remains unaddressed within the expected timeframe.
The stock exchanges handle the complaints filed against their TREC (Trading Right Entitlement Certificate) holders while the Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd. deals with the complaints against the DPs (Depository Participants).
Other entities such as merchant banks, listed companies and asset management companies have been asked to dispose of their clients' complaints directly.
To lodge a complaint, an investor has to enter the CCAM window on the home page of the BSEC website using BO (beneficiary owner's) account, cell phone number and e-mail address.
