European Multilateral Clearing Facility (EMCF), a pan-European central counterparty (CCP), owned by Fortis Bank Nederland and exchange group Nasdaq OMX, has reduced its fees by 40% for clearing UK securities.
From 14 April, the cost of all trades cleared in UK securities will be reduced to €0.03 per trade. The cost for clearing other European equities will be maintained at €0.05 per trade.
“The strategic price reduction is introduced at a crucial moment for the European cash equities markets and will aid in consolidating the successes of the MTFs serviced by EMCF,” said Jan Booij, CEO of EMCF, in a statement. “Increasing competition, most notably in the UK segment, has triggered a competitive response from EMCF. We send a strong message to the trading and clearing community: We will continue our price reductions based upon volume growth and competitor pricing.”
EMCF currently clears for pan-European multilateral trading facilities Chi-X, Nasdaq OMX Europe and BATS Europe. It plans to add Hungarian-based QUOTE MTF and Burgundy, a Nordic only MTF, later this year. It will also provide CCP services for Nasdaq OMX’s Nordic exchanges, following the exchange group’s
purchase of a 22% in EMCF from Fortis – which is now owned by the Dutch government – last year.
Rival central counterparty EuroCCP, which provides clearing to NYSE Arca Europe and broker-backed MTF Turquoise, also reduced fees for pan-European securities to €0.05 per buy or sell order for up to 800,000 orders, calculated as a monthly average for the combined volume of all trading venues EuroCCP clears for.