BATS Europe, Chi–X® Europe Limited and NASDAQ OMX Europe today announced the formation of an open, industry working group to develop a uniform symbology framework for trading European stocks. Participation is open to all European execution venues. With a common symbology in place, European trading participants will be able to easily consolidate market data from any trading venue - either MTF or exchange - and more effectively smart route orders.
Paul O´Donnell, COO of BATS European Markets division, said, "The European equities market proves time and again that it can respond to the needs of its participants and this no exception. By working with Chi–X Europe and NASDAQ OMX Europe we have identified a market need and the potential complexities fragmentation can create and have responded accordingly with this initiative."
Hirander Misra, COO of Chi–X Europe, said, "Competition is driving down the cost of trading in Europe and we are constantly looking for opportunities to help our market participants as the landscape evolves. Collaboration on open initiatives such as a common symbology should help the European market become more attractive not only to investors in Europe, but also the international trading community."
Todd Golub, Head of Markets Development at NASDAQ OMX Europe, said, "A common symbology will ease navigation between market centres and ultimately provide a better experience to investors. This move will also reduce the back office complexities associated with MiFID. NASDAQ OMX Europe looks forward to continued collaboration with other market centres to address the needs of the new European trading environment."
About BATS Europe
BATS Trading is a subsidiary of BATS Holdings, an innovative global financial markets technology company based in Kansas City, Mo. with additional offices in New York and London. The BATS Trading ECN platform was launched in January 2006 and is one of the fastest–growing, top–tier equity markets in the United States. The company also has plans for a European launch in 2008 through its wholly owned subsidiary based in London. The BATS platform is internally developed by a dedicated core team of market and technology professionals, catering to the needs of the broker–dealer and trading community. BATS is backed by a broad–based ownership group including affiliates of Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, GETCO, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Lime Brokerage, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Tradebot and Wedbush.
About Chi–X® Europe
Chi–X Europe Limited, a majority–owned subsidiary of Instinet Europe Limited, is an FSA–authorised securities firm operating as a multilateral trading facility (MTF) for the trading of a wide range of European equities. Chi–X Europe´s low–cost, streamlined operating model is designed to help participants achieve ultra–low execution, clearing and settlement costs, and benchmark tests have shown the Chi–X Europe to be significantly faster than Europe´s traditional equity exchanges. Chi–X Europe disseminates real–time market data to clients directly and via third–party market data vendors at no cost, and off–exchange trade reporting is available for a low monthly fee. For more information, please visit www.chi–x.com.
About NASDAQ OMX Europe
NASDAQ OMX Europe enables best execution in high volume securities trading in a cross–border, multimarket environment. It is the first platform to connect European liquidity pools with Pan–European routing. Following the complete roll–out, NASDAQ OMX Europe will trade approximately 700 securities including constituents of the main European indices, ETFs and other highly liquid securities. The NASDAQ OMX trading platform is recognized as the fastest in the industry with peak trading speeds of 250 microseconds. For more information about NASDAQ OMX Europe, visit www.nasdaqomxeurope.com.
©2008 Chi–X Europe Limited. All rights reserved. CHI–X is a registered trademark in the UK and Europe. INSTINET is a registered trademark in the United States and in other countries throughout the world. Approved for distribution in Europe by Chi–X Europe Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.