The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday gave the green light to BD Finance Capital Holdings Ltd and Citizen Securities Investment Ltd to operate merchant banking in the capital market.
The commission sent a letter to the managing directors of the companies with approval for merchant banking.
The approval came as the SEC sought to increase the number of institutional investors in the market, an SEC official said.
Twenty more companies have applied to the SEC, seeking approval for merchant banking, the official added.
The regulator approved the merchant banking activities of Bengal Investments Ltd on February 15.
Presently, 51 merchant banks operate in the stockmarket.
Among the banks, 43 are full-fledged merchant banks, which simultaneously perform the functions of an issue manager, a portfolio manager and an underwriter.
The remaining eight merchant banks carry out the functions of either an issue manager or a portfolio manager or both.