December 14 2015

ICE will end the year having closed two acquisitions in quick succession. Clearing the decks for some serious deals in 2016?

EBRD completes 10% investment in BIST as Istanbul eyes a large Pakistan exchange stake. Welcome to Monday’s Exchange Invest, happy scrolling:

Public Markets

ICE Completes Acquisition Of Trayport

Business Wire

ICE completed its acquisition of Trayport from BGC Partners & GFI for approx $650 million, approx 2.5 million ICE common shares.

PLY: Last week I was impressed with the speed of conclusion of the IDC transaction. The Trayport acquisition announced November 16, 2015, has been closed even faster. Are ICE just focussed on year end clearing? Well I wouldn’t bet on it. The New year could yet bring a lot of pent up deal flow. (Presumably LSE will continue to dream of an ICE acquisition, although I am not sure that is top of the list for The ICE). QV Premium: Exchange Deals Brief.

EBRD Acquires 10% Stake In BIST

MondoVisione

EBRD & Borsa İstanbul (BIST) have agreed Friday to the acquisition by EBRD of a 10% shareholding in the stock exchange. QV Premium: Exchange Deals Brief 2.

PLY: Finally a fully completed deal in the original ‘cornerstone’ round where no other funds appear to have invested – or at least so far…albeit over a year after the process began.

FXCM Releases Statement on Ongoing Discussions With Leucadia & Stock Repurchase Program

GLOBE NEWSWIRE

Discussions ongoing, no assurances of a definitive agreement.

In addition, as previously stated, FXCM’s BoD has authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $130 million, of which $65.8 million remains. QV Premium: FXCM Stakes Sales Brief.

Plus500 Resumes Onboarding Clients Through FCA Regulated Unit

Victor Golovtchenko – Finance Magnates

PLY: As I mentioned Friday. QV Premium: Plus500 Turmoil & Deal – Brief – Part 2.

EU Extends Capital Grace Period For Banks Using U.S. Clearers

Huw Jones – Reuters

EU’s executive body has postponed for the fourth time imposing tougher capital requirements on banks from the EU that pass derivatives through non-EU clearing houses.

The six-month extension runs to 15 June, 2016.

U.S. Regulators Weigh Limiting Funds’ Use Of derivatives

Reuters

SEC Proposes New Derivatives Rules for Registered Funds & Business Development Companies

SEC

JSE CEO: It’s Ordinary South Africans Who Will Suffer

BDlive

The plunge in the value of investments on the JSE in the two days after President Jacob Zuma fired finance minister Nhlanhla Nene will have a longer term effect on the stability of the economy…

PLY: An air of turmoil in ZA after a long period of hyper-average government.

IEX Wants Buyside In Its Corner For ‘David vs Goliath Fight’ (subscription)

Tim Cave – Financial News

IEX Group, has called on buyside firms to petition regulators to back its regulatory application.

More about IEX here.

HKEx Guidance Letter On Trading Halts In Securities Of Listed Issuers

HKEx

CFTC Quizzes Clearing Banks Over Leverage-Cutting Tactic (subscription)

Fiona Maxwell – Risk

Banks that found a way to remove billions of dollars of cash from their balance sheets have been sent a list of questions by CFTC. The tactic is used to reduce the impact of the leverage ratio on clearing businesses.

Clearstream: Statement On Agreement Reached On New T2S Migration Plan

MondoVisione

ESMA Consults On Margin Period Of Risk For CCPs’ Client Accounts

MondoVisione

ESMA Consults On Improved Access To Trade Repository Data

MondoVisione

Private Markets

India Trade Body Partners BSE For First Physical Gold Exchange

Reuters

The Mumbai-based India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) will hold 70% of the planned gold exchange (reported last week), while BSE will own the remainder, said Saurabh Gadgil, a VP at the trade body.

Pakistan SE To Become Operational From December 28

Kazim Alam – Tribune

With the merger of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, a single platform, the Pakistan SE (PSE) will become operational from December 28. QV Premium: Pakistan Exchanges Merger Brief.

BIST Shows Interest In Pakistan SE

Pakistan Today

Borsa Istanbul (BIST) has shown interest in the acquisition of 40% strategic stake in the upcoming Pakistan SE.

Kuwait Bourse Company To Manage KSE In April

Kuwait Times

Kuwait Bourse Company will begin managing the Kuwait SE (KSE) as of April 25.

India – The Exchange-Listing Impasse

Lokeshwarri SK – The Hindu Business Line

If SEBI really wants stock exchanges to list, it should stop putting hurdles in their way.

PLY: Yip yip & thrice yip.

New Clues Suggest Craig Wright, Suspected Bitcoin Creator, May Be A Hoaxer

Andy Greenberg – Wired