Nordic and German broker-dealers and FESE sign joint letter against OTF for equities

The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), together with the Nordic Securities Association and the Bundesverband der Wertpapierfirmen, has co-signed a letter opposing the introduction of Organised Trading Facilities (OTFs) for equities due to the potential negative impact on European equity markets.

FESE believes that categorising equities under OTFs compromises the openness and neutrality of Regulated Markets and Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs). The proposed classification risks undermining its own objective of enhancing price transparency and would limit small and mid-sized companies’ access to global investors, thereby restricting their ability to raise capital.

To foster a neutral, efficient, and competitive trading environment, we support the requirement for Broker Crossing Networks (BCNs) to be classified as MTFs. This approach would help prevent further fragmentation of the equities market.