BATS Chi-X Europe
Chi-X Europe Ltd is an order-driven pan-European securities exchange. It is a trading venue where participants are able to trade securities listed in major European markets. Chi-X Europe was created as a response to the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), which aimed to increase competition and drive down the cost of trading in Europe.
Chi-X Europe launched on 30 March 2007 initially offering ten stocks in the Dutch and German markets. By January 2010, around 1,200 equities and ETFs/ETCs were available for trading on Chi-X Europe. These stocks were listed in the following markets: United Kingdom; Germany; France; The Netherlands; Belgium; Switzerland; Sweden; Finland; Norway; Denmark; Austria; Italy; Portugal; Spain; Ireland. The majority of stocks in the leading indices in these markets are available for trading on Chi-X. Additionally, stocks from a number of mid cap indices are also available for trading.
Main services offered by Chi-X Europe:
• Displayed Order Book • Chi-Delta – non-displayed order book • Chi-Vision – smart liquidity consolidation service • Sponsored Access
Connectivity & market data
Connectivity to Chi-X Europe is available through a number of routes, such as network service provider, leased lines or co-location. Chi-X Europe uses the FIX protocol to enable order entry, amendments, cancellations and receipt of executions by trading participants. Market data is available either as a direct feed or via third-party vendors in a standardised format.
Clearing & Settlement
Clearing of trades on Chi-X Europe takes place through the European Multilateral Clearing Facility (EMCF), which offers a wholesale cash market Central Counterparty (CCP) solution. EMCF has been the CCP for Chi-X Europe since launch.
Regulation
The firm is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK’s financial services regulator. Chi-X is recognised as a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) by the FSA, a concept created by MiFID, which allows firms to operate trading venues without becoming a Regulated Market (RM). Although MTFs and RMs are subject to different parts of the FSA Handbook, the regulatory obligations are broadly equivalent. A future revision of MiFID may lead to the regulation of MTFs and RMs to be completely aligned.
Corporate structure
Chi-X Europe is owned by a consortium of global financial institutions, all of whom have a minority shareholding in Chi-X Europe. They include BNP Paribas, Citadel, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Fortis, GETCO Europe Ltd, Goldman Sachs, Instinet, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Optiver, Société Genérale and UBS.
The firm is operated independently from Chi-X Global, a trading platform operator and technology provider which is wholly owned by Nomura. Chi-X Europe does not take any services from Chi-X Global.
The name Chi-X is derived from the Greek letter Chi, written X, symbolising the crossing of the two sides of a trade.[1]
Headquarters: London Key people: Alasdair Haynes, CEO; John Woodman, Chairman
Links to articles
Alasdair Haynes, CEO, speaking to City AM about his plans for the future – ‘My corporate jet is easyjet: meet the platform boss taking on the LSE’, City AM, 18th May Alasdair
Alasdair Haynes, CEO, speaking to The Trade News about index calculation – “MTFs’ index campaign gains widespread support”, The Trade, 1 April 2010
Alasdair Haynes, CEO, talks to Finextra about “pan-European equities, not competing against Exchanges, and the need for market data standards and a European consolidated tape”, Finextra, 30 March 2010
Alasdair Haynes, CEO, speaking to The Trade News about why competitor’s rates must fall further, The Trade, 15 February 2010
Alasdair Haynes, CEO, speaks to Reuters UK about future plans: Chi-X Europe CEO plans to keep low-fee strategy, Reuters, 15 February 2010
LSE reports revenue dip as Chi-X moves to number two spot in Europe, Finextra, 21 January 2010
Chi-X overtakes NYSE Euronext as second busiest European equities market, Financial News, 20 Jan 2010
References
External links
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