Europe’s largest stock exchange firm suspected of breaching anti-monopoly laws

The European Commission has launched an investigation into potential collusion between Deutsche Börse and Nasdaq concerning the listing, trading, and clearing of financial derivatives.

According to the Commission, there are suspicions that the two exchange operators may have reached agreements not to compete in certain derivative markets, as reported by the Deutsche Welle.

Deutsche Börse, which operates the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and Eurex — the EU’s largest derivatives trading venue — is the bloc’s biggest stock exchange group by market value. Nasdaq’s US parent company is among the world’s leading stock exchange operators.

Regulators in Brussels suspect that Deutsche Börse and Nasdaq could have divided customer demand, coordinated prices, and exchanged commercially sensitive information.

The probe follows a string of surprise inspections conducted at both Deutsche Börse and Nasdaq in September last year.

“Competition rules help secure fair and open competition among financial exchanges and ensure the proper functioning of the capital markets union — a cornerstone for innovation, financial stability and growth in the interest of all European citizens,” said EU competition chief Teresa Ribera.

The investigation focuses on a former cooperation agreement between Eurex and the Finnish derivatives exchange Helsinki Stock Exchange (HEX), now part of Nasdaq. The arrangement dates back to 1999 and was originally discussed with the European Commission.

Deutsche Börse said the partnership had been designed to be “pro-competitive” by “deepening liquidity” in the Nordic derivatives markets and creating greater efficiencies. The company stressed that the agreement had been public, transparent, and beneficial to market participants. The cooperation ended in 2023.

At the time, HEX had entered into an agreement with Eurex, one of the world’s largest derivatives markets, under which the most liquid derivatives were traded on Eurex’s platform, while HEX was tasked with promoting Eurex products and memberships across the Nordic and Baltic regions.

Nasdaq also referred to the historical cooperation, maintaining that it had been lawful. “It was discussed with the European Commission when it was announced, and no objections were ever raised until after the co-operation had ended,” the company said.

Following the announcement, Deutsche Börse’s shares fell 3 per cent in Frankfurt, while Nasdaq’s stock slipped 0.3 per cent in pre-market trading in New York.

By Nazrin Sadigova