The Nordic region has a vibrant listed derivative market with three financial exchanges. At first they developed through alliances and cooperation. Now, Nasdaq OMX has split with EDX London and Oslo Børs, opening a new era of unbridled competition. As Colin Packham reports, the next year will show whether all three can stay in the game.
The Nordic derivatives market is not the biggest, but it is one of the most interesting. And just at the moment, the market is living through particularly interesting times – something that, as the Chinese curse suggests, is not always pleasant.
In keeping with Nordic countries’ leadership in information technology – the internet was adopted very early in Scandinavia; Nokia is Finnish and Ericsson Swedish – the Nordic markets have been at the forefront of electronic innovation in derivatives.
The entire structure of the futures and options markets in the Nordic countries has been shaped by this...