A lot has changed, of course, since your last FO Week Q&A in March 2004 after the launch of Eurex US in Chicago. What can you take away from your experience with Eurex US and apply to USFE?
When we launched Eurex US, we were offering a market model of all electronic trading, low fees for everyone, fully transparent and a level playing field. At the time it was conceived in 2003, that didn't exist in the US. The majority of trading was pit traded. Eurex had a value proposition they wanted to bring the market and that's why Eurex US was set up.
Eurex brought so much credibility to the marketplace that the Chicago exchanges took notice. As a result, the Chicago exchanges changed their market model and narrowed the gap in terms of the value proposition. They lowered barriers to electronic trading, relaxed rules and significantly...