Warming relations between the UK and EU are making an eventual shared consolidated tape more likely, according to regulators – and to the relief of market participants, reports Global Trading.
Virginie Saade, head of government and regulatory policy at Citadel, was clear in her desire for a shared UK-EU tape: “I wish we could have a super CT. We have all these instruments in common between the EU and UK, and when traders ask 10 different brokers about their prices they get 10 different answers. That’s just not acceptable – there is only one answer, one best price.”
Charlotte Sickermann, head of the secondary markets unit at the European Securities and Markets Authority, was clear that the tender process is different across the jurisdictions, but suggested that there could be space for a shared tape in the future. “Of course, it would be great to have one tape that covers everything. It is possible that someone makes a business case for a ‘super tape’ once the UK and EU tapes are in place, but we need to be realistic. The UK is no longer part of the EU. Although our rules are largely aligned, we have different processes, different needs. It is unavoidable that some parts will deviate.”
Although Jamie Whitehorn, head of trading venues at the UK Financial Conduct Authority, agreed that the two tapes were distinct entities but noted that the two authorities were holding regular conversations on technical alignment between the regions. At the same time, regulators have indicated that their hands were tied when it came to fully aligning processes.