The European Commission’s proposal for a consolidated tape of real time market prices for securities is taking up a lot of energy for data providers and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Yet it may not be a game changer on the road towards Capital Markets Union (CMU). It is an ultimatum to trading platforms to cooperate by having a single data feed and, if not, ESMA will become the data host. This will bring more transparency in the pricing of market data, as revenues will need to be shared amongst the data providers. The proposal also addresses other securities trading rules, in the competition between exchanges and investment banks or brokers, to bring more on exchange.
Karel Lannoo is General Manager of ECMI and CEO of CEPS.