European Principal Traders Association

📢 Today, EPTA joins other leading participants in European capital markets to call for mandatory #interoperability between cash equity CCPs as a key enabler for deeper intregration and greater efficiency in EU capital markets. Mandatory full interoperability between CCPs in cash equities and ETFs is a proven model. Extending and mandating it will reduce costs, improve netting efficiency and support cross-border trading in the EU Single Market for Capital. The current practice of "preferred clearing" on major EU markets creates significant barriers to the cross-border flow of capital and stands in the way of fully scaling up EU equity markets to support our economy for #growth. The Commission's proposals in #MISP to strengthen Open Access are a positive step. Together, we now urge Co-legislators to go further and ensure fully mandatory equity CCP interoperability. EPTA is joined in this call by AFME (Association for Financial Markets in Europe), Cboe Europe, European Banking Federation and EFAMA. Read our statement 👇

ESMA's Call for Evidence on EU equity market structure is a key stocktake. EPTA's read of ESMA's own data is that EU equity markets are stable and working well. ESMA's dataset has its limitations, though. Our response emphasises that the priority should be to further improve data quality so that both policy makers and market participants can really see the full picture. EPTA's five key messages from our response to ESMA: 1️⃣ Order-book depth and spreads have remained stable or even improved in recent years. 2️⃣ Market quality should be judged by end-investor outcomes, not venue share. 3️⃣ End-investor choice is the priority. Regulation should stay neutral and not mandate where execution takes place. 4️⃣ End-investors should not be deprived of genuine, price-forming liquidity that Systematic Internalisers provide. 5️⃣ Policymakers and market participants cannot yet see the full picture — fixing the data must come before any structural reform is even being considered. Strong, competitive capital markets are a key enabler of Europe's economic growth and its strategic room to act. To sustain that, any change to EU equity market structure should be informed by the full empirical evidence and should always prioritise the needs of end-investors. EPTA's full response below 👇

On the sidelines of another successful IDX conference, EPTA hosted a series of exchanges business briefings for our members with Eurex, ICE, Euronext and Kalshi. The conversations were wide-ranging, energetic and interactive. Exciting new initiatives and innovations are happening in Exchange-Traded Derivatives and our members are helping shape what comes next. Many thanks to Robbert Booij, Christopher Rhodes, Charlotte Alliot and Andy Ross + colleagues for the insights and lively discussion!

EPTA is a member of the EU T+1 Industry Committee and we strongly encourage market participants to reply to this important survey!

Great summary in The TRADE News of EPTA's key messages on the Market Integration and Superivision Package 👇

Post-trade fragmentation and jurisdictional complexity remain key barriers to efficient EU capital markets. Ambitious and swift action is needed across both #settlement and #clearing. For a strong and competitive EU economy, post-trade reform must prioritise the interests of end-users and facilitate cross-border capital flows and liquidity provision.       A key solution is to mandate full interoperability for cash equity CCPs. This will significantly reduce costs, improve netting efficiency and support cross-border trading. EPTA's recommendations: >Better enforcement of the existing rules – so that access and interoperability cannot be unjustifiably delayed or refused. >Giving a clear role to ESMA to arbitrate unjustified refusals and undue delays for equity CCP open access requests. >Making interoperable clearing mandatory, enabling investors’ choice of CCP for stocks and ETFs. 👉 More in EPTA's position paper on MISP: https://lnkd.in/e95C3V9r

EPTA has published its key messages on the Market Integration and Supervision Package (for Trading and Post-trade). Increased scale, greater efficiency and genuine end-investor choice are critical to ensure MISP delivers real benefits for investors, issuers and the wider EU economy. How? By addressing the barriers that still stand in the way of achieving the deep and globally attractive capital markets that the EU needs: 🔧 Fixing the EU's fragmented and costly post-trade infrastructure 🕳️ Closing gaps in the market transparency framework 🏛️ Addressing shortcomings in the equity Consolidated Tape However, let's also be careful to preserve what already works well in EU market structure: end-investor access to diverse sources of #liquidity — both #multilateral and #bilateral, including via SIs. This is what keeps EU markets innovative, competitive and cost-effective for end-investors. Read our full paper 👇

💡 The EC's targeted consultation on the competitiveness of the EU banking sector is not only about #banking. The full ecosystem of financial intermediation needs to work well to achieve growth, competition and diversity in EU markets. 📰 For #investmentfirms the ask is focussed and the case is strong: Targeted changes to IFR/IFD will deliver a simpler, better-calibrated prudential framework — one that deepens liquidity, improves price discovery and expands the capacity of investment firms to channel savings into productive investment across the EU. The Commission should act on this now. 🤝 A competitive and diverse banking sector is clearly essential for the #SIU. The question is not which type of institution matters more — it is how the full range of market intermediaries can be empowered to contribute to achieving the SIU's ambitions. The EU now has a real opportunity to build capital markets that work at scale, driven by firms that can operate at full capacity. 👇 Read our full response

🤝 At EPTA, we're looking forward to be partnering again with TradeTech, this year for its first-ever edition in Amsterdam!

💡 Great to see The TRADE News pick up on EPTA's pragmatic -- but principled -- support for the speedy delivery of awell-functioning UK Equities Consolidated Tape. 📰 Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/e-Fe63-w ... and our earlier response to the FCA here: https://lnkd.in/eVvywH3u