The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) has appointed Steve Matthews as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer of its Pan-European Market initiative, a high-volume trading platform which will link multiple trading pools across Europe. Mr. Matthews will oversee all legal and compliance work, as well as surveillance functions for the Pan-European Market. NASDAQ OMX announced its Pan-European Market in March and plans to launch in September, pending FSA approval.
"Steve's legal and regulatory knowledge, his experience with major investment banks in London and work with regulatory agencies, including the FSA, brings a valuable set of skills and experience to our Pan-European Market," commented Chris Concannon, Executive Vice President, Transaction Services, NASDAQ OMX.
Matthews joins NASDAQ OMX from Credit Suisse in London, where he was a senior Compliance Officer. Previously, Matthews was a Compliance Officer at Citigroup where he was co-head of the Core Control Group team in London. He spent nearly four years at the UK Financial Services Authority, advised the UK Treasury on the Market Abuse Directive and was the UK representative on a CESR expert group. Matthews is a lawyer by education and was called to the English Bar in 1999.
The NASDAQ OMX Pan-European Market will enable best execution in high volume securities trading in a cross-border, multi-market environment. The market, which will be the first platform to connect European liquidity pools with Pan-European routing, is scheduled to open in September 2008. At launch it will trade approximately 300 of the most actively traded European blue chip shares. The NASDAQ OMX trading platform is recognized as the fastest in the industry with peak trading speeds of 250 microseconds. The launch of the NASDAQ OMX Pan-European Market is subject to FSA approval.
ABOUT NASDAQ OMX GROUP
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, and with over 3,900 companies, it is number one in worldwide listings among major markets. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market; the OMX Nordic Exchange, including First North; and the 144A PORTAL Market. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and ETFs. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 60 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. OMX Nordic Exchange is not a legal entity but describes the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com/.