Financial Regulatory Forum

By Huw Jones and Jane Baird

LONDON, Feb 12 (Reuters) – British, Dutch and Swiss market watchdogs have agreed conditions to end a ban on clearing linkages, which could spur competition and cut fees in Europe’s stock market, industry officials said on Friday.

Share trading platforms like Chi-X and BATS want clearing houses to share markets, so that these venues can offer multiple clearers and strengthen their ability to compete with exchanges such as Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext by bringing down transaction fees.

The worst financial crisis since the 1930s prompted regulators to slam the brakes on a string of applications from clearers to hook up with one another.

Now clearers will have to take another look at their requests for market-sharing, known as interoperability, to meet the conditions agreed on Friday by the regulators, which will delay the introduction of linkages in the market.

Regulators wanted to be sure they had a full picture of risks posed by linkages to the broader financial system. They feared links would see a bust clearing house spread contagion throughout the broader financial system.

By Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) – The Nasdaq Stock Market and BATS Exchange said in separate statements on Thursday they will “voluntarily” stop offering so-called flash orders, a controversial service that gives certain firms an advance look at market-bound trading orders. (more…)

Nasdaq backs ban on ‘flash’ trading -Schumer
By Rachelle Younglai and Jonathan Spicer
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters) – The Nasdaq Stock Market supports a ban on so-called “flashes,” order types that it and other stock-trading venues send to a select group of traders fractions of a second before revealing them publicly, Senator Charles Schumer said on Tuesday.

(more…)

By Jonathan Spicer

NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Charles Schumer warned a top regulator on Friday that if she does not ban so-called “flashes” — orders that stock exchanges send to a select group of traders before revealing them to the wider market — he will introduce legislation that does. (more…)