Banks eye reporting system to rival LSE

A number of top investment banks are set to build a trade reporting system that could rival that of the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The banks are said to be taking advantage of the new European reporting regulation, MiFID, which means banks are no longer required to report their trades to a local exchange - although they still have to report trades somewhere.

CitiGroup, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS are reported to be involved in the project.

None of the banks are commenting on the scheme, although some have confirmed they are involved.

A source close to the initiative told silicon.com: "It's because of the confidentiality agreement. [Individual banks] can't speak unless the rest of the banks say so."

silicon.com Financial Services

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The London Stock Exchange currently charges banks when they report their trades.

MiFID (the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive), which comes into force next year, is an EU regulation that will allow companies to provide services across borders and do their trading without an exchange.

The LSE said it is confident it can compete with the banks.

A spokesman told silicon.com: "Our position is that we are committed to providing a wide range of products so [companies] will continue to work with us. We're confident in the ability of our business in this area."