Executive departures spark NYSE Euronext shake-up

NYSE Euronext, the operator of stock exchanges in France, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands, has changed the way it plans to engage with customers in Europe, following a reorganisation of some of the exchange group’s key executives.

NYSE Euronext, the operator of stock exchanges in France, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands, has changed the way it plans to engage with customers in Europe, following a reorganisation of some of the exchange group’s key executives.

Patrick Birley, who was responsible for commercial operations for NYSE Euronext’s London-based clearing operations, has left the firm after only being appointed three months ago.

He follows a number of recent departures, including Garry Jones, global head of derivatives, and Stanley Young, who was replaced by Jon Robson as the CEO of NYSE Technologies, the bourse’s commercial technology division.

Birley’s role will be taken over by Lee Hodgkinson, head of sales and relationship management at NYSE Euronext and CEO of the exchange group’s dark trading venue SmartPool. Hodgkinson’s increased responsibilities also reflect a change in the way NYSE Euronext manages customer relationships.

“My role will be to consolidate sales, business development, and account management across Europe and Asia,” Hodgkinson told theTRADEnews.com. “Our aim is to have all of our client-facing activities under one umbrella so we can build holistic, strategic relationships with clients across trading and post-trade services.”

The European bourse operator is also on track to overhaul the derivatives clearing capabilities which underpin its NYSE Liffe exchange, having announced in June last year it would terminate its relationships with Anglo-French clearer LCH.Clearnet.

The project is being managed by Mark Ibottson, executive vice president of global clearing.

From June 2013, NYSE Liffe Clearing will take responsibility for default management arrangements, risk management, collateral and treasury activities and banking and payment systems – functions currently handled by LCH.Clearnet. The exchange will maintain its relationship with LCH.Clearnet for equities clearing.

European retail service approved 

Meantime, NYSE Euronext has received approval to launch the European version of its retail trading service from January next year.

The Retail Matching Facility lets retail banks and brokers execute orders against specialist retail liquidity providers (RLPs) which are required to offer price improvement, as well as other members.

RLPs will trade retail orders exclusively on a price-time priority. If they cannot offer price improvement, retail brokers will automatically trade with liquidity available in the exchange’s central order book.

“The aim of NYSE Euronext’s Retail Matching Facility is to promote a more competitive, transparent environment for retail investors than they currently achieve through bilateral, internal arrangements with intermediaries,” said Alicia Suminski, head of market and product development, European equity cash and derivatives, NYSE Euronext.

A US version of the retail service went live on 1 August.

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