membership.

The firms submitted the applications before the February 1 deadline when joining fees for local firms were boosted to the same level as those paid by exempted companies.

As of February 1 joining fees for local firms will now be $20,000 for brokers and $30,000 for broker/dealers and market makers. Previously the fees were $5,000 for local brokers and $20,000 for broker/dealers.

Annual fees will remain the same at $5,000, as will the minimum net capital requirements for each category of trading member.

The stock exchange had set lower fee levels for local companies to encourage them to join. They were also offered incentives which included the grant of share options for those that joined in 1995 and exclusive listing sponsorship rights up until August 1997.

The BSX has stated that it wanted to remove the two categories of fees between local and international companies so there was no "perception of continuing protectionism'' in the Bermuda market.

Five of the nine firms which are currently members of the BSX are local companies, including the three banks which originally owned and operated the exchange exclusively.