Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse are co-operating with an unannounced European Commission antitrust inspection into financial derivatives products.
The Commission is concerned the firms may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit restrictive business practices.
German stock exchange firm Deutsche Börse, of which derivatives exchange Eurex is a subsidiary, confirmed the European Commission’s investigation and told GT: “We do not comment on ongoing investigations.”
Nasdaq told GT: “We are aware of an investigation initiated by the European Commission involving the derivatives market. Nasdaq is committed to fully cooperate with the European Commission and support the relevant authorities with the investigation.”
The European Commission announced on Monday the inspections in two EU member states, with the relevant national competition authorities in attendance. The Commission told GT it would not confirm in which countries it was conducting the investigation nor the companies involved.
These probes are preliminary; if they uncover anti-competitive practices, further investigations and fines are a possibility.
When it comes to European derivatives exchanges, Eurex continues to dominate with a 71% market share in August 2024, and its equity derivatives volume standing at €80 billion, 31% higher than the same period last year (€61bn).
Eurex’s Equity Index Derivatives encompasses EURO STOXX 50, STOXX Europe 600, MSCI Indices, DAX, SMI, and FTSE 100, while Euronext covers regional exchange products.
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