Regulator profile · PK
SECP — Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan
Tracked byBrokerlist Editorial · Independent review teamUpdated
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is Pakistan's capital-markets regulator. SECP supervises Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed equities, asset managers and licensed brokerages — Arif Habib, AKD Securities, Topline Securities, JS Global. SECP does NOT licence retail OTC FX with foreign brokers; the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) treats unauthorised retail forex as a foreign-exchange violation under FERA 1947.
Brokers in Pakistan accepting residents under SECP- Jurisdiction
- Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
- Founded
- 1999
- Mandate
- Established under the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act 1997 (operational since 1999), succeeding the Corporate Law Authority. SECP enforces the Securities Act 2015, the Companies Act 2017, and the Modaraba Companies and Modarabas (Floatation and Control) Ordinance — covering capital markets, non-banking finance, insurance and corporate-sector regulation. Coordinates with SBP on cross-jurisdictional matters.
- Consumer protection
- No FX-specific compensation scheme — retail OTC FX with foreign brokers is not within SECP's licensing perimeter. PSX-listed equity settlement is guaranteed via the Central Depository Company (CDC) and the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL). Bank deposits are covered separately under SBP's Deposit Protection Corporation (covering up to PKR 500,000 per depositor).
- Retail leverage caps
- SECP does not licence retail OTC FX. Margin trading on PSX-listed equities follows risk-based capital rules for licensed brokerages. Currency derivatives on Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX) for permitted INR-pair-equivalents are subject to exchange-set margins. SBP's foreign-exchange controls under FERA 1947 prohibit unauthorised retail outbound speculative FX.
- Public register
- SECP publishes lists of licensed brokerages, asset managers, insurance companies, modarabas, and other regulated entities. Cross-reference PSX (Pakistan Stock Exchange) member directory for trade-execution authorisation and SBP for banking-side authorisations. Open register ↗
- Dispute resolution
- SECP handles disputes within its capital-markets and non-banking finance jurisdiction. Pakistan's commercial courts under provincial high-court systems provide ultimate recourse. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutes FEMA/FERA violations alongside SBP referrals.
- Editor notes
- SECP-licensed brokerages provide PSX-listed equities and PMEX commodity-futures access. International CFD brokers (Exness, FBS, XM, OctaFX) onboard Pakistani residents via offshore entities — operating outside both SECP and SBP's authorised perimeters. Banking-channel funding is restricted; USDT P2P (Binance, Bybit) is the primary retail workaround. FIA prosecutions for unauthorised forex transactions are selective but ongoing.
Brokers we track with a SECP licence
No brokersNo tracked broker currently holds a SECP licence in our database.