The market interface, which commenced on March 30, was announced by Manuel Alves Monteiro, President of the BVLP’s Executive Committee, and José Massa, General Manager of MEFF, at a public event held in Lisbon for this purpose.
By virtue of the interface agreement, approved by the governing bodies of both markets, MEFF and BVLP members will be able to use their corresponding market terminals to trade in futures and options contracts on both the IBEX-35 and PSI-20 indices, and in futures and options on a wide range of equities traded on Spanish and Portuguese bourses. The two markets’ clearing bodies will become clearing members of the other market, so making operations easier for members, who will henceforth be able to post margins and settle their own market positions without having to use a clearing member of the other market.
“This interface is a natural step for MEFF, given the extraordinary historical relationship we have enjoyed with BVLP, with whom it has always been a pleasure to work”, said José Massa. “This interface is a pro-active response to the requirements of the new European financial scenario and for MEFF it is very important to be able to offer our members access to products traded on BVLP given the significant interest our members our members have shown in these. As opposed to large theoretical schemes, in MEFF we favour specific measures which improve our members’ position, and this interface is proof of this”, he added.
Manuel Alves Monteiro said, “this interface is an important step in the internationalisation of the Portuguese market. Thanks to this, market agents in both countries will have access to a wider range of products on a bilateral basis, creating new opportunities for investment and the generation of intermediation fees. This move also proves that BVLP is today better prepared to face the challenges of internationalisation and globalisation, its guiding principle being to convert these challenges into positive opportunities for the domestic market and for the agents operating therein”.
The interface between the Spanish and Portuguese markets will be set up in two stages. The first, which began on March 30, will provide BVLP market members with access to the MEFF market. MEFF members will gain access to the BVLP market three weeks later, in April.
