In its 2005 results, Deutsche Börse was forced to take a €40m reduction in profits at its Eurex subsidiary as a result of the poor performance of Eurex US. Despite this, Eurex overall saw its profits increase by 45% on the previous year, to €253.9m.
Nonetheless, the exchange reiterated its commitment to finding a role for Eurex US, which chief executive Reto Francioni - who has also been occupying that role at Eurex on a temporary basis following the departure of Rudi Ferscha (see FO Week Vol 11 No 1) - described as "a valuable asset".
Both Deutsche Börse and Eurex have previously said that the ongoing costs of running Eurex US were relatively small, despite the exchange's failure to attract significant volume to US Treasury, index or FX products. Last year Ferscha told FO Week that Eurex US's annual running costs were in the E20-25m range, adding that it was...