Focus on LatAm's Exchanges

When the idea of the Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano (Mila) was first introduced in 2009, the hope was that by combining the forces of the exchanges from Chile, Colombia and Peru, a market could be created that would drum up liquidity and improve market structure in South America. A little over five years in and the end result is still inconclusive.

But that's to be expected, Steve Phillips, regional manager of Latin America and the Caribbean at Nasdaq, told Waters' Dan DeFrancesco.

The integration of systems, and building cooperation and trust of nations that are fully vested in their own landmark exchanges, takes time, he said. It took nine years after the announcement of Nasdaq's Nordic alliance "to declare that the integration, cooperation was complete," he told Dan.

So the lesson, here, is that of patience.

Mila is only three years old when it comes to trading, with the addition of Mexico's Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) coming last summer, signaling a step in the right direction. Phillips says that for increased growth, capital gains tax issues between the varying jurisdictions needs to be ironed out, and Mila operators need to do a better job at reaching out to the broker community.

But as with anything in South America, the success or failure of the alliance will likely come down to Brazil's BM&FBovespa's involvement.

The key question going forward will be whether or not BM&FBovespa decides to play nice and make friends, or if they want to crush the outfit before more exchanges enter the fold? Do they view themselves as investors or enemies? It's something to watch, and I highly recommend reading Dan's full article for more context.

HFT Fight Moves Forward

The New York State Supreme Court has given NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman the green light to move forward with his lawsuit against Barclays and the bank's alleged use of its dark pool to defraud clients. But that doesn't mean that Barclays is out of options, either. 

From Inside Market Data: Barclays had asked the court to throw out the case, arguing the state had not shown its clients were harmed, but Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan said it was premature to dismiss Schneiderman's claim.

Tick...tick...tick...

I'm on deadline this week, so I'll have to cut this a bit short. But speaking of deadlines, the deadline for entering into this year's Sell-Side Technology Awards is February 20 at 6 p.m. (ET), so the clock is ticking.

For the entry, you'll be asked to provide a 500 word description as to why your product should be named the winner in that particular category. I would suggest using real metrics (which can be kept confidential, if requested) and even a case study or true comparisons, rather than a simple description of your product offering, which is information that we could easily find on your website. The submissions that have numbers and examples tend to stand out.

Call me (646-490-3973) or email me at [email protected] if you have any questions.