|
|
Article: Paper tigers.(Survey)(clearing and settlement practices of stock exchanges: US and Europe)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 5, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
AMID all the enthusiasm for the rise of equity markets and for a new global equity culture, it is easy to overlook the infrastructure of share trading; yet the ease and the cost of buying and selling shares are crucial factors in how far and how fast such a culture takes root. As we have seen, stock exchanges in both America and Europe could do with some reforms on both these scores. But the biggest obstacles in Europe are stored up in the back office.
In equity trading, especially the international sort, it is the back office that often accounts for a surprisingly large chunk of the costs. When an investor buys a share, he may believe that the only thing to ...