LSE informed Italy it will not transfer bond buying and selling platforms: central financial institution supply

MILAN/ROME (Reuters) – London Inventory Change (LSE.L) has given assurances to Italy that it plans to proceed investing in its Italian buying and selling platforms and doesn’t intend to maneuver them in another country, a Financial institution of Italy supply stated on Thursday.

LSE Group owns Italian inventory trade Borsa Italiana, which in flip controls the MTS platform on which Italian authorities bonds are traded.

The Financial institution of Italy supply was responding to a Reuters story that stated LSE was contemplating shutting down a bond buying and selling platform referred to as BondVision and transferring the administration capabilities of Italian securities’ clearing operations from Milan to London.

LSE Chief Government David Schwimmer held talks with officers from the Italian central financial institution and market regulator Consob in Rome on Thursday.

“Within the assembly as we speak LSE gave ample reassurance about its willingness to proceed to put money into the Italian market infrastructures and that it has no intention to alter (their) location,” the Financial institution of Italy supply informed Reuters, talking on situation of anonymity.

“LSE has assured its full dedication to extend the effectivity of MTS and BondVision,” the supply stated, including that the LSE could be conveying the identical message to Italy’s economic system minister.

Two Italian sources with information of the scenario had earlier informed Reuters the LSE was mulling an overhaul of MTS forward of a possible merger with knowledge supplier Refinitiv.

LSE declined to touch upon Schwimmer’s go to to Italy and the content material of the discussions.

The British group is transferring forward with a $27 billion plan to purchase Refinitiv after Hong Kong’s bourse scrapped an unsolicited $39 billion bid for the London trade operator.

Thomson Reuters, an expert data firm that’s the mum or dad of Reuters Information, holds a 45% stake in Refinitiv.

The sources stated Italian authorities had been involved that the rumored overhaul could be a primary step towards centralizing precise clearing and post-trading operations exterior Italy and would ultimately result in MTS being dismantled.

Italy, which has the world’s third largest public debt, considers the Milan inventory trade and its authorities bond buying and selling unit MTS a strategic asset. Final month, it permitted a regulation giving the federal government particular powers to guard the Milan trade from potential exterior menace.

The BondVision buying and selling platform is utilized by institutional buyers, together with the Financial institution of Italy, and largely trades Italian authorities bonds, with a each day quantity of 5-6 billion euros.

The sources who spoke concerning the potential overhaul stated the plan the LSE was contemplating envisaged shutting down BondVision as a result of Refinitiv has an analogous bond buying and selling platform, Tradeweb TWO.O.

One of many sources stated that LSE was additionally contemplating transferring the administration capabilities of clearing home unit Cassa di Compensazione & Garanzia (CC&G) and settlement home Monte Titoli from Italy to London.

In London the LSE operates LCH, one of many world’s largest clearing homes.