Merrill Lynch's entry to the Finnish equity market is part of a continued effort to expand and enhance the company's equity execution service for its clients. Merrill Lynch will be trading on its own account and on behalf of its customers.
Commenting on the membership, Paul Dewinter, Managing Director, Equity Markets said: "Direct access to the market will give Merrill Lynch increased exposure to the Finnish marketplace. The membership also enables us to deal directly with issuers and investors in Finland and extend our commitment to the Nordic region. We also hope to bring increased liquidity to the market place".
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies with offices in 36 countries and total client assets of approximately $1.3 trillion. As an investment bank, Merrill Lynch is a leading global underwriter of debt and equity securities and strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch is a member of 13 European equity exchanges.
Jouni Torasvirta, Executive Vice President, says it is a great pleasure to welcome Merrill Lynch as a member of Helsinki Exchanges. He says: "The increasing number of members enhances the liquidity and transparency of the marketplace in Helsinki."
HEX operates the stock exchange and central securities depository in Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, and provides market parties with reliable services of high quality. HEX has five business units: Marketplace, Securities Services, Information Solutions and Baltic Operations.
Including Merrill Lynch International, Helsinki Exchanges now has 46 Cash Market Members of which 30 trade from abroad.
