French banking group BNP Paribas has acquired a three per cent stake in Turquoise, the bank-backed equities trading platform that will compete head-to-head with domestic stock exchanges in Europe.
Speaking at a banking conference in Europe, Baudouin Prot, chief executive, BNP Paribas, told reporters that the bank had invested in the Turquoise platform, but he declined to say how much it paid for the stake.
Turquoise is being set up by Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS to compete with domestic stock exchanges in Europe - in particular the LSE - following the introduction of the EU's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID).
OMX is rumoured to be in advanced discussions to become the sole technology provider. Meanwhile earlier this year DTCC subsidiary EuroCCP was selected to provide clearing and settlement services for the new venture.