Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Investor Education Development and Training) Regulations, 2016

Registered No. D.A-1
Bangladesh Gazette
Extraordinary Issue
Published by Authority
Monday, December 26, 2016
[ Notifications and Notices issued by private individuals and corporations in exchange for others ] Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Notification Date: 22 November 2016 No.-BSEC/CMMRC/2016-351/194/Admin/74.—Pursuant to the powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 24 of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Act, 1993 (Act No. 15 of 1993), the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, after prior publication, hereby makes the following rules, namely:—

Chapter I
Preliminary

1. Short title.—These rules shall be called the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Investor Education Development and Training) Rules, 2016.

2. Definitions.—(1) Unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, in these rules:—
   (a) "Act" means the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Act, 1993 (Act No. 15 of 1993); (b) "Academy" means the Academy constituted under Rule 12; (c) "Commission" means the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission established under Section 3 of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Act, 1993; (d) "Department" means the "Financial Literacy Department" of the Commission; (e) "Board" means the 'Board of Governors' constituted under Rule 13; and (f) "Program" means various types of programs for the development or training of investor education, or various types of programs undertaken for this purpose, as determined by the Commission or the Academy under these rules.

(2) The words or expressions used but not defined in these rules shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969 (Ordinance No. 19 of 1969), the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Act, 1993 (Act No. 15 of 1993), the Depository Act, 1999, the Exchanges Demutualization Act, 2013, and any rules or regulations made thereunder, as used in those contexts.

Chapter II
Investor Education and Training

3. Investor Education and Training Programs.—The Commission may adopt various duration-based programs for existing and potential investors, capital market-related persons, and the general public to increase their knowledge of financial matters, namely:—
   (a) Short-term (one year or less);
   (b) Medium-term (from one year to three years); and (c) Long-term (more than three years).

4. Investor Education and Training Process.—To promote investor education throughout the country, programs shall be undertaken through the following various means, namely:—
   (a) Informal Education.—
   (i) To implement informal education, the Academy and the Department shall jointly undertake distance education and informal education programs; (ii) To achieve the objectives of sub-clause (i), the Academy and the Department shall jointly develop subject-based curricula, conduct evaluations, and manage examination programs; (iii) The Academy and the Department shall jointly take necessary measures for teaching and examination methods through online and website platforms; (iv) For this purpose, the Academy and the Department shall jointly use electronic and other media and arrange for dramas, advertisements, documentaries, cartoons, quizzes, debates, general knowledge competitions, etc., as content for investor education, and arrange for their promotion through electronic media.

(b) Formal Education.—
(i) To implement formal education, the Academy and the Department shall jointly take necessary measures to include investor education curricula in the syllabi of secondary, higher secondary, university, and other institutions; (ii) To achieve the objectives of sub-clause (i), the Commission shall form one or more committees comprising relevant persons or institutions by order; (c) Education through other means determined by the Commission.—The Academy and the Department shall jointly arrange for the expansion of education through other means such as road shows, seminars, workshops, etc., in accordance with the Commission's order.

5. Program Management.—(1) To manage the programs, the Commission may appoint one or more Program Directors.
   (2) For the management of any program, the Commission may form one or more committees comprising relevant persons or institutions.
   (3) The Commission's relevant Department shall supervise the programs and committees related thereto.
   (4) The Commission shall determine the scope and responsibilities of the programs and committees by order.

6. Training of Instructors.—(1) The Academy shall occasionally take measures to train instructors for investment-related training programs.
   (2) Any instructor may manage programs on their own initiative with the approval of the Commission or the Academy, and on behalf of the Commission or the Academy.
   (3) The qualifications of instructors shall be determined by the Commission's order.
   (4) Instructors must be certified or experienced from the Commission, the Academy, or any institution approved by the Commission.

7. Commission's Management of Investor Education and Training Programs.—To fulfill the objectives of these rules, the Commission may occasionally issue orders determining the procedures and guidelines for investor education and training.

8. Funding by the Commission.—(1) The Commission shall provide initial funding to promote investor education nationwide.
   (2) A head for this purpose shall be created in the Commission's budget, and necessary allocations shall be kept in this head regularly.
   (3) The funds allocated in the head mentioned in sub-rule (2) shall be spent by the Commission in accordance with these rules.

Chapter III
Investment Education Fund

9. Investment Education Fund.—(1) A fund named "Investment Education Fund" shall be established under these rules and shall be operated through an approved scheduled bank account.
   (2) Donations provided by local authorities, exchanges, depositories, clearing and settlement companies, issuers, and other capital market-related institutions, any person or institution, or any foreign organization, or funds received from the social responsibility heads or other heads of any institution, shall be deposited into the aforementioned fund. (3) A "Fund Management Committee" shall be constituted by the Commission's order to manage the aforementioned fund, and the bank account mentioned in sub-rule (1) shall be operated with the signatures of at least two members nominated by this committee. (4) Programs under Rules 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 and other related expenses shall be met from the aforementioned fund through methods approved by the Commission. (5) The preparation of annual budgets and the release of funds for expenditure under these rules shall be determined by the Commission's order. (6) The Commission may occasionally issue orders regarding the fund.

10. Accounting and Audit.—(1) The committee mentioned in sub-rule (3) of Rule 9 shall maintain the accounts of the fund created under sub-rule (1) of Rule 9 and prepare account statements.
    (2) The Commission's Internal Audit Department shall audit the half-yearly account statements of the fund mentioned in sub-rule (1) of Rule 9.
    (3) The audit mentioned in sub-rule (2) must be completed within 30 (thirty) days following the end of each half-year.
    (4) The annual account statements must be audited by a recognized audit firm.
    (5) The audit work mentioned in sub-rule (2) must be completed within 120 (one hundred twenty) days following the end of each financial year, and the audited account statements must be submitted to the Commission within the next 14 (fourteen) days:
    Provided that, if there is difficulty in auditing the aforementioned account statements or submitting them to the Commission within the specified time due to reasonable causes, the Commission may extend the time limit.

11. Abolition of Investment Education Fund.—(1) After the establishment of the Academy mentioned in Rule 12, the Investment Education Fund mentioned in Rule 9 shall be abolished at the time and in the manner determined by the Commission's order, and the said fund shall be merged with the fund of the Academy mentioned in Rule 17.
    (2) Upon the merger mentioned in sub-rule (1), the provisions of Rules 9 and 10 shall cease to have effect.

Chapter IV
Establishment of Academy

12. Establishment of Academy.—(1) To promote the spread of investment education, the Commission shall establish an Academy named "Bangladesh Academy for Securities Market (BASM)" under the supervision of the Department.
    (2) The Academy shall undertake all activities mentioned in Rules 3, 4, and 6, and may conduct and certify courses including investment and securities market training, certificate courses, diploma courses, post-graduate courses, and other courses determined by the Commission:
    Provided that, after Rule 11 comes into effect, the Academy may conduct all programs under Rules 5 and 7 in addition to the aforementioned activities.
    (3) With the Commission's approval, the Academy may conduct all activities mentioned in sub-rule (2) free of charge and, where applicable, with fees.

13. Board of Governors of the Academy.—(1) The Commission shall constitute the Academy's Board of Governors with a maximum of 17 (seventeen) members by order.
    (2) The Commission may reconstitute this Board as necessary.

14. Board Meetings and Honorarium.—(1) The Board shall hold at least three meetings per year at the time and place determined by its Chairman.
    (2) The Board's Chairman shall convene meetings by providing at least 07 (seven) days' notice:
    Provided that, in emergency situations, meetings may be convened with less than 07 (seven) days' notice.
    (3) At least one-third of the members must be present to constitute a quorum at the meeting.
    (4) The Chairman shall preside over all Board meetings, and in their absence, a member elected by the attending members shall preside.
    (5) Decisions at Board meetings shall be taken by the majority vote of the attending members, and in case of a tie, the presiding person shall have a second or casting vote.
    (6) Board members attending meetings shall be entitled to an honorarium, which shall be determined by orders issued from time to time under these rules.

15. Executive Officers of the Academy.—(1) The Principal and Vice-Principal of the Academy shall be the Director General and Additional Director General, respectively.
    (2) One Executive Director and one Director from the Commission shall be appointed or posted as Director General and Additional Director General, respectively, subject to the relevant provisions of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Officers and Employees) Service Rules, 2014.

16. Recruitment of Academy Staff.—(1) With the Board's approval, the Academy may recruit the necessary number of staff of various grades (permanent, temporary, or contract-based).
    (2) Staff of various grades from the Commission may be appointed or posted to various positions in the Academy, subject to the relevant provisions of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Officers and Employees) Service Rules, 2014. (3) The recruitment and service conditions of the Academy's own staff shall be determined by the Board. (4) The salaries and allowances of all Academy staff shall be determined from time to time by the rules formulated by the Board.

17. Academy Fund.—(1) A fund named "Bangladesh Academy for Securities Market Fund" shall be established to meet all expenses of the Academy, and the said fund shall be operated through a scheduled bank account approved by the Board.
    (2) Donations provided by the Commission, capital market-related institutions, local authorities, any person or institution, or any foreign organization, or funds received from other heads, and the Academy's surplus funds shall be deposited into the aforementioned fund. (3) To meet the expenses of programs under Rules 3, 4, and 6 undertaken by the Academy, necessary funds may be provided from the fund mentioned in sub-rule (1) from the fund under Rule 9:
    Provided that, after Rule 11 comes into effect, the Academy shall meet the expenses of programs under sub-rules (2) and (3) of Rule 12 from its own fund.

18. Academy's Financial Year and Budget.—(1) The Academy's financial year shall be calculated from July 1 of any calendar year to June 30 of the following calendar year.
    (2) The Academy's annual budget shall be approved by its Board.
    (3) The salaries and allowances of the Academy's staff and all operational expenses shall be met from the fund mentioned in Rule 17.

19. Accounting and Audit.—(1) The Academy shall properly maintain its accounts and prepare annual account statements.
    (2) The annual account statements must be audited by a recognized audit firm.
    (3) The audit work mentioned in sub-rule (2) must be completed within 120 (one hundred twenty) days following the end of the financial year, and the audited account statements must be submitted to the Commission within the next 14 (fourteen) days:
    Provided that, if there is difficulty in auditing the aforementioned account statements or submitting them to the Commission within the specified time due to reasonable causes, the Commission may extend the time limit upon the Academy's application.

20. Reports, etc.—(1) The Academy shall prepare its annual report and, after approval by the Board, submit the said report to the Commission.
    (2) The Commission may, as necessary, call for reports and statements from the Academy on any matter, and the Academy shall be obliged to send them to the Commission.

Chapter V
Miscellaneous

21. Responsibilities and Duties of Relevant Institutions for Investor Education and Training.—(1) Each exchange, depository, clearing and settlement company, other self-regulatory organization (SRO), market intermediary institution, and issuer company shall take necessary measures, including establishing separate departments, working groups, etc., in the manner determined by the Commission, to manage investor education and training programs.
    (2) To manage training programs, the Commission and relevant institutions shall appoint instructors and determine and pay their honorarium.
    (3) Relevant institutions shall bear the expenses of investor education programs undertaken on their own initiative.
    (4) In addition to bearing the expenses mentioned in sub-rule (3), relevant institutions shall provide funds determined by the Commission to the funds mentioned in Rules 9 and 17 at specified times to meet the expenses of programs undertaken by the Commission to fulfill the objectives of these rules. (5) Relevant institutions shall regularly provide their all officers and employees with training on capital market laws, codes of conduct, responsibilities, duties, and investor education and training. (6) Relevant institutions shall regularly train their clients regarding investor education related to the services and products provided, as well as the clients' responsibilities and rights. (7) Relevant institutions shall publish investor education and training programs and content on their own websites. (8) The aforementioned institutions shall regularly send reports to the Commission's relevant Department regarding the investor education or training programs they operate. (9) Relevant institutions shall ensure customer service, including resolving customer complaints, in the manner determined by the Commission.

22. Execution of Contracts, etc.—The Academy may, with the prior approval of the Commission and subject to the relevant provisions of the Act, execute contracts, Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), or Statements of Consent (SoC) with domestic or foreign institutions or organizations as necessary to promote education related to investment and securities markets to fulfill its objectives.

23. Compliance with Orders or Instructions.—The compliance provisions in these rules shall be considered as compliance with instructions or orders issued by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Act, 1993:
    Provided that, under the powers vested in the Commission, the Commission may occasionally issue other orders or instructions to fulfill the objectives of these rules.

24. Saving.—Before these rules come into effect, any procedures organized or being organized that are consistent with these rules shall be considered as having been done or undertaken under these rules.

By Order of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr. M. Khairul Hossain Chairman.

Printed by Md. Abdul Malek, Deputy Director, Bangladesh Government Printing Office, Tejgaon, Dhaka.
Published by Md. Alamgir Hossain, Deputy Director, Bangladesh Forms and Publications Office, Tejgaon, Dhaka.
Price: Tk. 12.00

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