Stockholm, October 16, 2008 — The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) today
announced a new roadmap for its Nordic equity market to further strengthen the
functionality and liquidity of the market for the benefit of all market
participants. The key moves include:
the introduction of a central counterparty clearing (CCP) mechanism for cash
equity trading
a 20 percent discount to be offered on the variable part of the trading fee to
all CCP cleared trades,
a new trading platform
order routing functionality
“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. 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,” said Hans-Ole Jochumsen,
Executive Vice President, NASDAQ OMX.
NASDAQ OMX will introduce a CCP solution for the cash equity markets on its
exchanges in the Nordics. Optional CCP clearing will be offered from January
2009. Full CCP clearing is planned to be in effect from June 2009. A Memorandum
of Understanding has been signed with European Multilateral Clearing Facility
N.V. (EMCF) to deliver the clearing services. EMCF currently provides clearing
services for many of the rapidly growing MTF marketplaces, including NASDAQ OMX
Europe. In a separate news release NASDAQ OMX today announced that NASDAQ OMX
also have entered into an agreement to acquire an equity stake in EMCF. NASDAQ
OMX intention to use EMCF as a supplier of the clearing services to the Nordic
markets is dependent on closure of the agreement to acquire an equity stake in
EMCF. The CCP introduction is subject to regulatory approval.
NASDAQ OMX will implement a new trading platform in Q4 2009 placing all NASDAQ
OMX equity markets on INET technology. The new platform will further improve
efficiency, reduce latency and increase throughput. Additionally, a new market
structure will be developed to meet the needs of the Nordic and Baltic markets,
as well as to better accommodate the new trading environment under the Markets
in Financial Instruments Directive.
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Order routing functionality between NASDAQ OMX's Nordic Market and NASDAQ OMX
Europe will be introduced by Q4 2009, giving Nordic market participants the
possibility to trade all securities traded on NASDAQ OMX Europe. The
introduction of order routing is subject to regulatory approval.
Note to editors on the CCP solution:
A CCP solution implies that for each and every trade conducted, the CCP enters
as a buyer to the seller and as a seller to the buyer, i.e. the CCP acts as an
intermediary between the buying and selling parties. In this way, CCP reduces
counterparty risk, which is the risk that one party in a transaction will not be
able to fulfill its obligations in due time. The CCP guarantees that payment and
securities are exchanged efficiently at minimum risk to the parties involved.
The reasons for introducing a central counterparty mechanism on the Nordic
market are to put in place a better model for handling counterparty risk, to
remain competitive in the current European trading landscape, and to ensure
efficiency through the whole transaction chain.
The CCP solution will be tailored to local customer needs. To limit the overflow
of risk from trading activities at other markets serviced by EMCF, a separate
clearing fund will be created, a new membership type for local clearing
participants will be established, and Nordic securities will be accepted as
collateral.
Optional CCP clearing will be offered as an interim solution from January 2009
whereby parties opting to clear can clear all trades with each other. Self
clearing functionality (internalization) will be made available in parallel and
will continue to be offered once the full CCP clearing has been launched. The
full CCP clearing solution is planned for June 2009. The final plan for
implementation will be decided following member consultations. NASDAQ OMX will
also be open to other CCP providers in line with the intention in the European
Code of Conduct on Clearing and Settlement.
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ABOUT NASDAQ OMX GROUP
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers
trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents,
and with over 3,900 companies, it is number one in worldwide listings among
major markets. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to
companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market; the OMX
Nordic Exchange, including First North; and the 144A PORTAL Market. The company
offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives,
debt, commodities, structured products and ETFs. NASDAQ OMX technology supports
the operations of over 60 exchanges, clearing organizations and central
securities depositories in more than 50 countries. OMX Nordic Exchange is not a
legal entity but describes the common offering from Nasdaq OMX exchanges in
Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more
information about NASDAQ OMX, visit www.nasdaqomx.com.
ABOUT EMCF
EMCF, a subsidiary of Fortis Bank Nederland Holding N.V., is a central
counterparty clearing house, for equity trading on exchanges and multilateral
trading facilities. EMCF is regulated by the Dutch Financial Services Authority
(Autoriteit Financiële Markten) and The Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche
Bank). Using EMCF as a central counterparty across the markets will allow market
participants to save on clearing fees substantially but also on consolidating
risk exposures, thus mitigating balance sheet impact and solvency costs. EMCF
offers its clearing participants a transparent fee schedule, charging only a
fixed fee across markets. EMCF will continue to provide CCP solutions and
maintain price leadership by lowering tariffs when volumes grow further.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made
under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about
NASDAQ OMX's products and offerings. We caution that these statements are not
guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond
NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors
detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to
release any revisions to any forward-looking statements. There can be no
assurance that the FSA will give the NASDAQ OMX applicant the authorization and
permissions which it seeks.
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CONTACTS:
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
Media Contacts:
Bethany Sherman
+1 (212) 401-8714
bethany.sherman@nasdaqomx.com
Jonas Rodny
+46 (8) 405 72 67
jonas.rodny@nasdaqomx.com
NDAQG
