World's Exchange Leaders Meet in Vancouver

    
    World Federation of Exchanges Holds 49th General Assembly and Annual
    Meeting
    

VANCOUVER , Oct. 6 /CNW/ - Chairmen and Chief Executives from more than 50 of the world's leading exchanges gathered in Vancouver this week for the 49th General Assembly and Annual Meeting of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE - http://www.world-exchanges.org/). This assembly represents the largest and most widely attended gathering of global exchange leaders. The last meeting was held in Milan in 2008.

"Over the last year, global economic uncertainty created unprecedented challenges and opportunities for exchanges, our stakeholders and policy makers," said Thomas A. Kloet, CEO of TMX Group (http://www.tmx.com/). "TMX Group is very proud to host this important gathering at such a critical time. Open dialogue, the sharing of ideas and the work that takes place at these meetings help shape strategy and policy for the world's top exchange groups."

William J. Brodsky, who is completing the first year of his two-year term as WFE Chairman, said: "The presence of more than 50 exchange leaders at the Assembly demonstrates WFE's increasing leadership role in promoting international cooperation between markets and regulators." Mr. Brodsky is also Chairman and CEO of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (http://www.cboe.com/).

"Important issues will be addressed at this WFE annual meeting, including corporate governance, market structure, and the role exchanges played to stabilize markets during the recent financial crisis," Mr. Brodsky said. "I am especially grateful that so many chief executives from so many important exchanges are participating in these discussions."

    
    Annual Meeting Agenda

    Topics being reviewed by exchange industry leaders at the Annual Meeting
    include:

    -   Exchanges' roles in the financial crisis and afterwards: moderated by
        Mr. Brodsky, with panelists Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext;
        Paul Chow, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing; and Ravi Narain,
        Managing Director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India.

    -   Servicing the over-the-counter market: moderated by Bud Haslett, Head
        of Risk Management, Derivatives and Alternative Investments, CFA
        Institute; with panelists Andreas Preuss, Deputy CEO of Deutsche
        Borse AG and CEO of Eurex; Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental
        Exchange (ICE); Craig Donohue, CEO of CME Group, and Simon Grensted,
        Managing Director Business Development, LCH.Clearnet.

    -   Corporate governance: moderated by Mr. Kloet with panelists Atsushi
        Saito, President and CEO, Tokyo Stock Exchange Group Inc.; Brendan
        Caldwell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Caldwell Investment
        Management; and Pierre Bollon, Chief Executive, Association Francaise
        de la Gestion.

    -   Developing markets: moderated by Huseyin Erkan, Chairman & CEO,
        Istanbul Stock Exchange, with panelists Paulo de Sousa Oliveria Jr.,
        Chief Business Development Officer BM&FBOVESPA; Schive Chi, Chairman,
        Taiwan Stock Exchange; Yusli Mohamed Yusoff, CEO, Bursa Malaysia; and
        Abdullah AlSuweilmy, CEO, Tadawul Saudi Stock Exchange.

    -   Dark pools: moderated by Joseph Gawronski, President/COO, Rosenblatt
        Securities Inc.; a presentation by Russell Loubser, CEO, Johannesburg
        Stock Exchange; and a presentation by Professor Robert A. Schwartz of
        Baruch College, the recipient of the first WFE "Award for
        Excellence."

    -   Competition for order flow: moderated by Antonio J. Zoido, Chairman
        BME Spanish Exchanges, with panelists S. Meyer Frucher, Vice
        Chairman, NASDAQ OMX; Susan Wolburgh Jenah, President and CEO,
        Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada; and Judith
        Hardt, Secretary General, Federation of European Securities
        Exchanges.
    

The WFE is presenting its first "Award for Excellence" to Baruch College Professor Robert A. Schwartz in recognition of his contribution to the understanding of regulated markets. Prof. Schwartz , who is widely recognized as a pioneer scholar in the field of market microstructure, also present his recent study (http://www.world-exchanges.org/news-views/views/dark-pools-and-fragmented-markets) on dark pools and fragmented markets to the Assembly.

The keynote speaker is Kenneth Griffin , Founder and CEO of Citadel Investment Group. Guest speakers include Raymond Louie , Deputy Mayor of Vancouver , David Wilkins , former U.S. Ambassador to Canada and Richard Saines , North American Climate Change and Environmental Markets Practice Group leader at global law firm Baker MacKenzie.

Press Conference

There will be a press conference at the conclusion of the Meeting on Wednesday, October 7 with Mr. Kloet , Mr. Brodsky and Mr. Krantz . The conference begins at 11 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) and a teleconference facility will be available to journalists worldwide. Press participants in North America can dial into the conference toll free at 800-814-4859. International participants can dial directly at 416-664-3414.

Media in Vancouver are invited to attend in person in the Cheakamus Room of the Fairmont Waterfront, 900 Canada Place Way, Vancouver .

New WFE Member Exchanges

The WFE General Assembly approved the membership of Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX). With this, WFE membership reaches 53 regulated exchanges.

SROs and Major Clearing Houses Join WFE

Recently two independent Self Regulatory Organizations (SROs), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in Washington and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) in Toronto , joined the WFE to network with their regulatory colleagues. Post-trade issues, especially with regard to OTC transactions, are an important WFE focus. This year, the largest independent clearinghouses have also joined WFE: the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), LCH Clearnet, the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), and Takasbank. Said WFE Secretary General Thomas Krantz: "Many WFE exchanges are responsible for their post-trade arrangements and enforcement of regulation, so the insight and expertise afforded by these independent groups is a welcome addition to the WFE network."

Focus on Regulation

Regulation continues to be a top priority for WFE exchanges. In a 22 September 2009 letter to the G20, the WFE Board of Directors endorsed efforts to coordinate regulation of over-the-counter markets and products, and advocated the use of clearing houses and exchanges where risks are better managed and prices transparently set.

WFE Elects 2010 Board of Directors

The General Assembly also elected its new Board of Directors for 2010; a list of the new directors is attached.

WFE Annual Meeting 2010

The next WFE Annual Meeting will be hosted by NYSE Euronext in Paris on 11-12 October 2010, when the Federation will celebrate its 50th Anniversary.

    
    ABOUT THE WFE:
    --------------

    The World Federation of Exchanges, based in Paris, France, is the trade
association of more than 50 publicly regulated stock, futures and options
exchanges. WFE conducts research on issues pertinent to its members and holds
workshops and conferences around the world. WFE market operators are
responsible for the functioning of key components in the financial world. WFE
exchanges are home to about 46,000 listed companies (as of 31 July 2009).

    At the end of June 2009:
    -   The total market capitalization listed companies was approximately
        USD 40 trillion.
    -   Approximately USD 46.8 trillion in equities were traded on WFE stock
        exchanges.
    -   More than 5 billion future and option contracts were transparently
        traded on-exchange, with proper post trade risk management and
        guarantees.

    WFE Board of Directors 2010

    Chairman           William J. Brodsky, Chicago Board Options Exchange

    Vice Chairman      Ronald Arculli, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing

    Chairman of the
    Working Committee  Huseyin Erkan, Istanbul Stock Exchange

    Americas           Gilberto Mifano, BM&FBOVESPA
                       Meyer S. Frucher, Nasdaq OMX
                       Craig Donohue, CME
                       Thomas Kloet, TMX

    Asia-Pacific       Geng Liang, Shanghai Stock Exchange
                       Ravi Narain, National Stock Exchange of India
                       Atsushi Saito, Tokyo Stock Exchange
                       Jung-hwan Lee, Korea Exchange

    Europe - Middle
    East - Africa      Andreas Preuss, Deutsche Boerse Group
                       Maged Shawky, Egyptian Exchange
                       Russell M. Loubser, JSE Limited
                       Massimo Capuano, London Stock Exchange Group

    At large           Antonio J. Zoido, BME - Spanish Exchanges
                       Duncan Niederauer, NYSE Euronext
    

For further information: Media Contacts: WFE: Peter Clifford, [phone], [email protected]; [phone], Sibel Yilmaz, [email protected]; CBOE: Carol Kennedy, [phone], [email protected]; TMX Group: Carolyn Quick, [phone], [email protected]; Intermarket Communications: Andrew Yemma, [phone], [email protected] or Stephanie DiIorio, [phone], [email protected]