Badla financing

In common parlance the carry-forward system is known as 'Badla', which means something in return. Badla is the charge, which the investor pays for carrying forward his position. It is a hedge tool where an investor can take a position in a scrip without actually taking delivery of the stock. He can carry-forward his position on the payment of small margin. In the case of short-selling the charge is termed as 'undha badla'. The CF system serves three needs of the stock market :

Quasi-hedging: If an investor feels that the price of a particular share is expected to go up/down, without giving/taking delivery of the stock he can participate in the volatility of the share. ? Stock lending: If he wishes to short sell without owning the underlying security, the stock lender steps into the CF system and lends his stock for a charge. ? Financing mechanism: If he wishes to buy the share without paying the full consideration, the financier steps into the CF system and provides the finance to fund the purchase The scheme is known as "Vyaj Badla" or "Badla" financing. For example, X has bought a stock and does not have the funds to take delivery, he can arrange a financier through the stock exchange 'badla' mechanism. The financier would make the payment at the prevailing market rate and would take delivery of the shares on X's behalf. You will only have to pay interest on the funds you have borrowed. Vis-à-vis, if you have a sale position and do not have the shares to deliver you can still arrange through the stock exchange for a lender of securities. An investor can either take the services of a badla financier or can assume the role of a badla financier and lend either his money or securities. On every Saturday a CF system session is held at the BSE. The scrips in which there are outstanding positions are listed along with the quantities outstanding. Depending on the demand and supply of money the CF rates are determined. If the market is over bought, there is more demand for funds and the CF rates tend to be high. However, when the market is oversold the CF rates are low or even reverse i.e. there is a demand for stocks and the person who is ready to lend stocks gets a return for the same. The scrips that have been put in the Carry Forward list are all 'A' group scrips, which have a good dividend paying record, high liquidity, and are actively traded. The scrips are not specified in advance because it is then difficult to get maximum return. All transactions are guaranteed by the Trade Guarantee Fund of BSE, hence, there is virtually no risk to the badla financier except for broker defaults. Even in the worst scenario, where the broker through whom you have invested money in badla financing defaults, the title of the shares would remain with you and the shares would be lying with the "Clearing house". However, the risk of volatility of the scrip will have to be borne by the investor.