[ M A R K E T
R E V I E W
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E X C H A N G E S ]
Turf war
The Norwegian capital may not seem a likely battle-
ground for large exchange groups to wage war, how-
ever Euronext and Nasdaq have spent the last few
months engaged in tit-for-tat bids over Oslo Børs.
Euronext intends to make Oslo Børs the centre of
its “strategies project” for the Nordics region as a
“development hub and launchpad”, while Nasdaq
seeks to strengthen its already significant base for
European activities.
The upper hand currently resides with Oslo Børs
and its stakeholders as to which faction will be even-
tually welcomed into the stronghold.
The European landscape
While there has been plenty of drama in the US
exchange space already this year, that doesn’t mean
that the European exchange players are kicking their
heels. The TRADE examines where the key flash-
points are moving forward for European exchange
groups and other trading venues.
Clear chaos
The ongoing Brexit chaos is now approaching
critical mass for London-based financial firms.
So far, the key battle has concerned the clearing
space, with operators having to sweat it out until
mid-February over the fates of their business in
the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.
ESMA eventually announced that London-based
LCH, ICE Clear Europe and LME Clear had been
granted approval to continue clearing in such an
event, while Euroclear UK and Ireland followed
shortly behind in receiving its clearance.
For a more detailed examination of how Brexit
is threatening London-based derivatives clearing,
turn to page [42].
58 // TheTrade // Spring 2019