MANILA -- The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday it ordered the Philippine Stock Exchange's compliance arm to take over a brokerage house that was hit by a P700-million theft.

The Capital Markets Integrity Corporation's move will "protect affected customer accounts" of R&L Investments, the SEC said in a statement.

The SEC said it also ordered the CMIC to determine possible violations of the Securities Regulation Code by R&L Investments.

The regulator said it would proceed with its own investigation and the filing of cases if needed.

Based on its 2018 audited financial statements, R&L Investments booked client securities worth P738,897,290. However, the Philippine Depositary and Trust Corp reported that R&L's portfolio amounted to only P132,255,939, the SEC said.

With total net assets of P46,815,973, R&L will have negative equity of P559,825,378 should it absorb the value of the alleged missing shares.