SEBI Proposes Tighter Advertising Rules For Online Bond Platforms

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed tighter advertising rules for online bond platform providers (OBPPs), with restrictions on promotional content that could influence investment decisions without adequate due diligence.

The proposed advertisement code covers digital advertising, social media and influencer-led promotions. SEBI has suggested restricting urgency-based messaging and fear-of-missing-out content that may encourage investors to act without reviewing risks. Advertisements featuring specific securities would need to provide standardised details, including the issuer, tenor, credit rating, type of security, clean and dirty prices, yield to maturity and Credit Risk-o-meter.

The regulator has also proposed rules for terms such as “fixed returns”, “predictable returns” and “passive income”. Advertisements using “fixed returns” would need to state that such returns are not guaranteed and that debt securities carry market, credit and default risks.

SEBI has also proposed restrictions on unsupported claims such as “high yield” and “high returns”. Stakeholders can submit comments on the consultation paper until September 11, 2026.