The Commission's investigation is focusing on several areas, in particular the trading and clearing of derivatives. The NYSE Euronext/Deutsche Börse deal would give the merged company by far the leading position in derivatives' trading in Europe, Commissioner Almunia stressed.
The Commission is looking at this transaction from several angles, including the potential loss of head-to-head competition between the parties, the risk of lower innovation in products and technology, and the impact of the transaction in related markets such as clearing. Also within this crucial sector, the Commission will continue to look at the implications that mergers in financial markets have for market data, indices, trading technology, access to collateral, clearing and settlement, as they are all vital to keep them competitive and fair.
More evidence of the Commission’s commitment to preserving a good competition environment in financial services comes from the antitrust investigations recently opened in the cases of Markit – the leading provider of financial information in the CDS market – and ICE Clear Europe – a clearing house. These cases show that, since the spectacular growth in size and complexity of financial services, oversight of the financial sector must extend beyond traders and commercial or investment banks to include infrastructure owners, intermediaries, and information services providers.
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