Mumbai-based financial services firm Prime Securities Ltd [Get Quote] today announced that it would be setting aside Rs 23 crore ($5.7 million) as a provision for losses suffered during the recent stock market crash. The estimated provision was made for a depletion in the value of the securities the firm holds to date.

Listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, Prime Securities, with its subsidiary Prime Broking Company, was the first Indian brokerage house to publicly announce losses, while other houses were likely to follow in the coming month, said experts.

Prime Securities further said that the loss in the futures and options segment for the current financial year till date stood marginally under Rs 3 crore.

"We have announced the approximate figures to clear the air since there were rumours floating in the market about our firm. Also, we were under pressure from our shareholders to reveal the actual losses," said Company Secretary Ajay Shah.

The firm expects to post annual profit before tax of about Rs 27 crore against the Rs 26-crore profit a year earlier.

Investment advisor S P Tulsian is of the view that more than 30 per cent of the portfolio value of leading brokerage houses was wiped out this year as the market fell over 6,000 points.

Stock brokers involved in margin funding business were mainly hit as clients defaulted on their payments after the crash.

Most leading stock broking houses, however, were quick to state that they had not suffered huge losses.

Ramdeo Agarwal, joint managing director of Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd, another leading brokerage house, said they would be provisioning for marginal losses.

"Our provisioning would not be more than Rs 5 crore and we do not run any propriety trading books," he said.

Meanwhile, Rashesh Shah, chief executive officer of Edelweiss Capital, stated that the firm would not be making any provisions as it had not suffered any major loss.

The fall saw an erosion of more than half the market capitalisation of leading brokerage houses. The stock of Prime Securities fell 75 per cent from its peak of Rs 349. The stock was last traded at Rs 87 on the Bombay Stock Exchange today.