European exchange selects clearing and settlement supplier

The new pan-European stock exchange being set up by seven investment banks has selected a subsidiary of the Depositary Trust & Clearing Corporation to provide it with clearing and settlement services.

The exchange, which is codenamed Project Turquoise, has selected European Central Counterparty (EuroCCP) as one of its key technology suppliers.

Turquoise is being bankrolled by Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

The seven banks have said that the new exchange will launch on 1 November this year, the same date as the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) comes into force.

Mifid enables investment banks to use any stock exchange in Europe to transact equities and other financial instruments. The directive also enables any number of new entrants, such as Project Turquoise, to compete with the exchanges for business.