Proposed SEC Rules Linked to Drexel Collapse : Brokerages: The agency’s plan would require the firms to hand over information on financial dealings of their parent firms.

WASHINGTON —  The Securities and Exchange Commission, in a bid to limit fallout from a collapse like the one at Drexel Burnham Lambert, is expected to propose rules this week requiring brokerage houses to hand over information on financial dealings of their parent firms.

Agency officials hope that the plan would allow them to better detect whether a brokerage could fall victim to troubles at a holding company or affiliates, such as currency and commodity trading units. The SEC regulates brokerage firms.

“It would enable us to spot problems a little more in advance,” Commissioner Richard Roberts said.

The proposal stems partly from the 1990 collapse of Drexel Burnham Lambert Group Inc. The SEC did not learn until later that the holding company, to ease its own woes, had siphoned capital from its brokerage unit.

The move drained the unit and could have spawned problems at other brokerage firms doing business with Drexel.

“In my judgment, the breadth of Drexel’s activities caught the commission off guard,” Roberts said.

The plan also has roots in the 1987 crash, when the market was rife with rumors that some brokerage firms held by holding companies were in financial hot water.

The SEC now depends on voluntary cooperation of exchanges and financial companies for the information it is seeking.

Commissioners are set to meet Thursday and have two other items on the agenda:

* They are expected to approve rules proposed by the National Assn. of Securities Dealers that would tighten standards for listing shares on the NASDAQ over-the-counter stock market.

* They will consider whether to approve a relaxation of rules at several exchanges governing trading in stock options. The changes would effectively broaden the pool of options that could be traded on various exchanges.

The brokerage proposal would implement a second provision of the Market Reform Act, enacted last year to provide added stability to the stock market and bolster investor confidence after the October, 1987, crash.

Earlier this month, the SEC offered for public comment rules to give it faster access to data on big stock trades.

Under the latest plan, brokerage firms would have to file a consolidated balance sheet each quarter with the agency. The information would remain confidential.

The filings would include data about the sources of funds raised by an affiliate or a parent, such as money from bridge loans, currency trading and interest-rate swaps.

The SEC would also seek an organizational chart outlining the overall corporate structure of a firm.

Firms such as Salomon Bros. Inc. often have a parent--in this case, Salomon Inc. The arrangement enables the parent to limit its liabilities from the activities of the brokerage.