European stock exchange BATS Chi-X Europe has created a new order book for auctions, which it says will help traders to make larger trades. The new book is set to go live on 19 October, and represents an effort to satisfy long-term traders interested in larger order sizes.
Hotspot, the institutional foreign exchange market owned and operated by BATS Global Markets, is to expand its European presence with the launch of its first Europe-based FX matching engine later this year. The new matching engine will be located in the London Slough Campus data centres and will target Europe and Asia and specific FX currencies that dominate the European and Asian trading hours.
The financial services industry faces a daunting task as the European Commission’s MiFID II legislation draws close to its final deadline, and grave concerns about inconsistencies in the rules and the pressures of meeting it remain.
US exchange BATS Global Markets is calling for an 80% reduction in access fees to the US stock market’s most liquid securities, on grounds that nearly a billion dollars in fees could be slashed without adversely affecting the market. In an open letter to the industry, the exchange also rejected what it calls a “grand compromise” on exchange fees and called for greater transparency and the avoidance of anti-competitive rules.
European trading venue BATS Chi-X Europe is set to expand into Turkey, starting on 3 November. The move is the first time a competitor has entered the Turkish market to take on Borsa Istanbul. It is also BATS’ first new market since it took over Chi-X in 2011 – and the company’s first venture into an emerging market.
Europe’s largest alternative trading venue BATS Chi-X Europe is set to target the Swiss equities market, following a deal with BX Swiss, an independent exchange. The deal focuses on cross-listings for exchange-traded funds, and trade reporting services – and is a direct threat to the incumbent SIX Swiss Exchange.
BATS Chi-X Europe has appointed David Howson, formerly of Equiduct Systems, as its chief operating officer.
Senior market participants have expressed outrage that exchanges continue to charge high fees for market data, while MTFs still lack the means to compete on auctions and are not represented on international indices.
Technical problems at Nasdaq and BATS have reinforced the impression among many market observers that there may be something seriously wrong with equity market structure. Recent history reads like a catalogue of disaster for many of the world’s most prominent trading venues.
US exchange operator BATS Global Markets’ revelation earlier this week that it may have accidentally breached best execution regulation on thousands of client transactions over a four-year period has been criticised by senior buy-side traders, who have expressed disappointment at the failure of exchanges to serve long-term investors.
