Nasdaq OMX Europe, the pan-European multilateral trading facility (MTF) owned by global exchange group Nasdaq OMX, has appointed Dan Smith as post-trade manager.
Smith, currently a managing director in Nasdaq OMX Europe’s market development team, will spearhead the MTF’s post-trade strategy and work closely with central counterparty (CCP) clearing houses to increase efficiency and reduce costs for clearing members in his new role. He will also be the primary contact for general clearing firms and will lead Nasdaq OMX Europe’s effort to promote interoperability between clearing houses.
Smith will continue to be responsible for new initiatives at the MTF such as the sponsored access programme and the launch of trading in central and eastern Europe, scheduled for Q1 this year.
“This appointment signifies our focus on the post trade arena – specifically, lowering costs and increasing competition through interoperability initiatives,” said Charlotte Crosswell, president of Nasdaq OMX Europe, in a statement.
Before joining Nasdaq OMX Europe, Smith spent three years in broker Credit Suisse’s equities compliance team and before that, four years in various positions with the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Interoperability between CCPs has been a goal since MiFID came into force in November 2007. However, little progress has been made to date, and only one link, between UK-based CCP LCH.Clearnet Ltd and Swiss clearer SIX x-clear for LSE trades, is operational for equities to date.
While a number of interoperability deals between LCH, x-clear, European Multilateral Clearing Facility (EMCF) and EuroCCP were signed last year, the UK, Swiss and Dutch financial regulators are currently investigating the links, and issued guidance at the beginning of this year calling for more collateral to finance the increased counterparty risks caused by inter-CCP links. The regulators are currently investigating the LCH/x-clear link to ensure it meets their recommendations.