Big banks aim to form European exchange

It's fair to say that many Europeans are a bit wary of the plans by the NYSE and the Nasdaq to expand into Europe. Sarbanes-Oxley is a big reason, but there are others as well. It is unclear how the following will play out: Seven investment banks in Europe have plans to form a pan-European stock trading platform. It would rival the London Stock Exchange and other European stock markets. The banks include U.S firms such as Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, as well as European banks, such as Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. It may be a more palatable form of ownership, if the European banks are seen as a counterweight of sorts to the American ones. The truth is that investment banks have a pretty poor history of trying to wrestle power from exchanges.

For more on this:
- Here's an update from AP