Aite Group Releases European MTF Report

Aite Group has released a new report on the impact of multilateral tracing facilities (MTFs) on the European exchange landscape.

Entitled, “European Trading Venues Vie for Victory,” the report profiles the 17 major trading venues and examines the potential impact of market consolidation and increasing regulation and the influence of dark pools.

As MTFs have grown and traditional exchanges lose volume, European regulators are considering making dark pools register as MTFs. In a statement, Phillip Silitschanu, senior analyst with Aite Group and author of the report, said, “One of the major questions now being addressed by European regulatory bodies with regard to MTFs is whether the dark pools that are owned by brokers should be registered as MTFs.”

He added, “Brokers argue that registering dark pools this way would expose them to toxic order flow while hindering their ability to provide better pricing. Yet, if they do register as MTFs, the entire European MTF landscape could change dramatically.”