Exchange group Nasdaq OMX has unveiled plans to revamp its Nordic equities platforms, including a 22% stake in Fortis’s European Multilateral Clearing Facility (EMCF).
The planned upgrade, which affects all the group’s Nordic exchanges, will include a new trading platform, order routing functionality, the introduction of an EMCF-powered central counterparty (CCP) mechanism for cash equities, and a 20% discount on the variable part of the trading fee for all CCP-cleared trades.
The new trading platform will be implemented in Q4 2009, and will replace the existing OMX system with Nasdaq’s INET technology. The group said this will improve efficiency, reduce latency and increase throughput.
The order routing functionality will link the group’s Nordic markets to the Nasdaq OMX Europe pan-European multilateral trading facility (MTF), giving Nordic market participants the ability to trade all securities traded on the MTF.
Nasdaq OMX plans to introduce optional CCP clearing from January 2009, with full clearing available from June 2009. The group has signed a memorandum of understanding with EMCF to deliver clearing services, and has taken a 22% stake in the clearer. Nasdaq OMX said its intention to use EMCF as its clearing provider is dependent on closure of the agreement to acquire the stake.
“As the operator of the leading market for equity trading in the Nordics, we want to increase market liquidity and further strengthen our ability to compete in the new European trading landscape, said Hans-Ole Jochumsen, executive vice president, Nasdaq OMX, in a statement. “These important initiatives are designed to drive the development and increase the attractiveness of the Nordic equity market on a variety of fronts. We will deliver important customer benefits including reduced latency and transaction costs, straightforward cross-border trading, and a cost and risk-efficient clearing model.”