Options exchanges in the US were last week bracing for a regulatory probe into the industry as part of the fallout from investigations into stock market specialist practices and governance issues.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials said directly during the Options Industry Conference in Phoenix last month - that self-regulatory organisations - meaning exchanges, are falling under more intense scrutiny.
Phildalphia Stock Exchange (PHLX) ceo Sandy Frucher said SEC has asked US securities and options exchanges to perform a "harm assessment" of trades stretching back five years. His exchange is complying with the SEC request but said it is coming at a steep price. PHLX has spent $250,000 just for the extra data storage of every trade handled for the past five years. Other exchanges declined to...