The European Securities Transaction Industry

Abstract

Despite a lot of restructuring and many innovations in recent years, the securities transaction industry in the European Union (EU) is still a highly inefficient and inconsistently configured system for cross-border transactions. Many EU politicians eagerly promote the completion of the Single European Market, but — apart from a few exceptions — the industry structure still closely resembles the former fragmented market structure of largely independent organizations operating along national lines. This causes higher costs in the handling of cross-border securities¹ which ultimately translate into higher costs of capital — a significant competitive disadvantage for European firms compared to companies in the USA.