Anthony Belchambers, chief executive of the Futures and Options Association, has expressed his misgivings about a potential merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext, after reports this week that the two exchange groups had called off talks about joining forces.
A merger would create a near-monopoly in exchange-traded financial derivatives in Europe, with 82.9% of all exchange-traded derivatives.
Of the 17% of all European trades that would not be controlled by a combined Eurex and NYSE Euronext, 37.9% would be on the London Metal Exchange and ICE Futures Europe, which trade metals and energy contracts.
Belchambers said he was “nervous about the creation of a...