Concerns have been raised among a number of FCMs following the proposed takeover agreement between Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT) that fees could be driven higher given the enlarged status of the merged entity as a publicly listed company.
Many believed that analysts and investors have been firmly focused on the rate per contract that drives exchange revenue, which would in turn force them to increase fees.
"They do have an obligation to maximise their returns to some extent for shareholders, consistent with their obligation as a public market," said Neil Aslin, president of Peregrine Financial Group. "So we're really floating on a sea that we haven't been on before with for-profit markets. Now the very size of this [combined] institution will draw more attention to the decisions they make. There will be more scrutiny than before."
By contrast, others argued that there could be...