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The World Federation of Stock Exchanges releases details of a televised interview with Greg Wojciechowski, Chief Executive of the Bermuda Stock Exchange (“BSX”) held during the 51st Annual General Meeting of the World Federation of Stock Exchanges in South Africa. The release read:
“The World Federation of Stock Exchanges held its 51st Annual General Meeting in mid-October, bringing together the world’s major market-makers in Johannesburg, South Africa, in a time of tightening economic crises and demands for regulatory change. Joining his peers at the meetings, and taking part in the discussions of the future of the world’s stock exchanges, Greg Wojciechowski, Chief Executive of the BSX recognized the range of challenges faced in the aftermath of the global financial crises. In an interview on South Africa’s Summit TV, Greg noted that changes are in the wind because of regulatory pressures, market fragmentation and, at the same time, a movement to mergers and amalgamations. On the possibility of regulation becoming heavy handed, Greg said, “the stock markets are important to raise capital for entrepreneurs and growing business, while the regulators have a mandate to protect investors with appropriate regulations. This requires a need for constant balance... to meet the needs of the market, protect our economies...while not stifling innovation and growth. “Exchanges are absolutely essential to the well being of an economy” At the height of the economic crises there was pressure for the cash markets to close to allow calm, he noted. “The heads of the exchanges were adamant that our mechanisms were working properly, and that this was one of the only mechanisms that provided liquidity to the global marketplace. “We are now watching businesses grow and seek amalgamations which might be for economies of scale, or diversification, or to expand into new geographic areas. There are a lot of forces at work –those may appear to be competing forces – but we are watching a lot of things happening in our space. “The Bermuda Stock Exchange is one of the smallest. We are a small country of 65,000 people, and our exchange developed for the same reasons as elsewhere ...investors need protection and the ability to find out information about companies and have access to open trading platforms. A BSX specialty is in reinsurance and specialty insurance products. We see growing interest and movement in insurance-linked securities.” The complete article can be accessed via: BusinessDay
