SEBI extends Merchant Banker compliance deadlines for SBU transfer and net-worth requirements
Registered Merchant Bankers must meet revised SEBI compliance deadlines, with SBU transfer and Clause 11.2.10 compliance now due 31 December 2026 and net-worth phases aligned to financial year-ends
Change
On 11 June 2026 SEBI extended compliance timelines under the 2 January 2026 Merchant Bankers Circular for all Registered Merchant Bankers, moving the Separate Business Unit transfer deadline and Clause 11.2.10 compliance to 31 December 2026 and shifting net-worth, liquid-net-worth and categorisation-intimation deadlines to financial year-ends.
Why it matters
The extension covers the operational framework under the SEBI (Merchant Bankers) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which revised net-worth and liquid-net-worth thresholds and introduced the Regulation 13A Separate Business Unit (SBU) regime. SBU transfer (Reg 13A(2) / Clause 11.2.1) and Clause 11.2.10 compliance move from 3 July 2026 to 31 December 2026. Net-worth (Reg 7) and liquid-net-worth (Reg 7A) Phase I deadlines move to 31 March 2027 and Phase II to 31 March 2028; the Category I/II categorisation intimation moves to 31 March 2027. All other provisions of the 2 January 2026 Circular are unchanged, so the underlying obligations stand — only the deadlines shift.
Implications
- — Merchant Banker compliance and operations teams must replan the Separate Business Unit transfer of activities under Regulation 13A(2) to the new 31 December 2026 deadline rather than 3 July 2026 — the obligation itself is unchanged, only the date moves, so SBU segregation work must still complete by year-end 2026.
- — Merchant Banker finance teams must meet the revised net-worth (Regulation 7) and liquid-net-worth (Regulation 7A) thresholds by 31 March 2027 for Phase I and 31 March 2028 for Phase II, aligning capital planning to financial-year-end rather than the prior 2 January dates.
- — Merchant Bankers must submit their Category I or Category II categorisation intimation to SEBI by 31 March 2027 under the revised timeline.
Who is affected
- — Compliance and operations teams at registered Merchant Bankers implementing the SBU framework
- — Finance teams at registered Merchant Bankers meeting net-worth and liquid-net-worth requirements
What to watch
- — 31 December 2026: revised deadline for SBU transfer of activities (Reg 13A(2) / Clause 11.2.1) and Clause 11.2.10 compliance.
- — 31 March 2027: revised deadline for Regulation 7 net-worth Phase I, Regulation 7A liquid-net-worth Phase I, and Category I/II categorisation intimation.
- — 31 March 2028: revised deadline for Regulation 7 net-worth Phase II and Regulation 7A liquid-net-worth Phase II.
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