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SEBI allows ESOP holders to pledge shares during trading window closures
Business
Published on 9 May 2026
The regulator offers comfort, but lenders still face constraints
SEBI has clarified that employees exercising ESOPs at listed companies can pledge the shares to raise funds even during trading window closures. The move aims to support genuine financing needs for exercising vested options, offering regulatory comfort for such trades. But the change does not remove contra-trade restrictions for lenders who later invoke the pledged shares.
- Employees can pledge ESOP shares during trading window closures
- SEBI’s clarification covers bona fide financing for option exercise
- Lenders still encounter contra-trade restrictions upon invocation
Read the full story at The Economic Times
This summarization was done by Beige for a story published on 
The Economic Times