A group of 14 European exchanges, present in 26 Member States of the EU, have agreed to work together to develop an application for a European consolidated tape (CT) for equities.
The initiative responds to a proposal from the European Commission for an equities tape to contribute to the development of the Capital Markets Union.
The exchanges have agreed to form a joint venture to evaluate and prepare an application as a CT provider in a future selection process. Participating exchanges include the Euronext Group, Nasdaq, SIX Group (including BME) and Deutsche Boerse Group. Other players include the stock exchanges of Athens, Bucharest, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Warsaw, Prague, Vienna and Zagreb.
“The participants are recognised specialists in supplying reliable and high-quality market data and are well-positioned to deliver a CT quickly, efficiently, and to the highest operational standards,” said the exchanges in a joint statement.
The primary focus of the project will be to provide a tape that will serve as a comprehensive, standardised and consistent source of market data, as well as working alongside regulators to develop the optimal solution for investors.
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The move has been welcomed by longstanding supporters of the CT initiative.
“We are encouraged that Europe’s national exchanges have dropped their long-standing opposition to a real-time consolidated tape for EU equities and have embraced our long-held view that a real-time pre-trade tape would bring significant benefits to investors of all types, and thereby help grow the European equity market ecosystem,” said Natan Tiefenbrun, president of Cboe Europe, speaking exclusively to The TRADE.
“As Europe’s largest pan-European exchange and OTC trade publication facility we have also been exploring the viability of operating a CT for UK and EU equities and would welcome the opportunity to work with other exchanges, MTFs and all other data contributors to deliver a viable tape that benefits all market participants.”