(October 19 – 15:45 EST) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has just ordered five options markets to submit a proposal to link their markets, giving them just 90 days to do it.
The SEC issued an order today requiring the American Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the Pacific Exchange, and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange to develop a plan for linking their markets for options that are traded on multiple markets. It has also requested that the International Securities Exchange participate. The ISE is a new co-operative electronic options exchange launched earlier this year to trade the most common options. The exchanges have 90 days to come up with a plan.
The order came out a meeting of the options exchanges hosted by the SEC today. The SEC wants the markets linked to minimize fragmentation and ensure that customers get best execution.
– IE Staff