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Deutsche Börse: Best European Trading Venue

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Last year saw Deutsche Börse achieve its best sales performance since the record year of 2008. Sales revenue increased 6 per cent to EUR2.23bn, while net interest income climbed an impressive 26 per cent to EUR75m.

According to Deutsche Börse chief executive Reto Francioni (pictured), the results “display growth across the business and the continuation of effective cost management” – total costs fell 29 per cent year-on-year to EUR1.217bn in 2011, while net income grew 15 per cent to EUR833million.
 
“We will now accelerate our growth strategy with an offensive on unregulated and unsecured markets, an extension of our leadership role in technology and market data, and by partnering further with infrastructures and customers in growth areas and regions,” Francioni says.
 
Deutsche Börse’s product and service portfolio covers the entire process chain including securities and derivatives trading and clearing, custody, and the provision of electronic trading systems. With offices across Europe from Luxembourg and Germany to Spain and the Czech Republic, in addition to representative offices as far afield as Beijing, Tokyo and Chicago, its 3,300 employees process client requests across all time zones.
 
In the fourth quarter of last year Deutsche Börse enjoyed a 4 per cent increase in sales revenue to EUR541m and recorded a 56 per cent reduction year-on-year in total costs. This is partly attributable to the collapsed merger with NYSE Euronext following the European Commission’s decision to block the deal announced on February 1. Even so, cost management remains a key priority.
 
A Deutsche Börse spokesperson says: “With the successful implementation of several efficiency measures over the past year, the company has been able to reduce its operating costs by more than 10 per cent since 2007. In 2011, Deutsche Börse announced plans to accelerate its current efficiency programme with the full run rate of EUR150m to be achieved in 2012, one year ahead of the initial plan.”
 
Last year saw growth across all business areas for Deutsche Börse as a result of various key developments. One was the launch of a joint funds trading exchange between Deutsche Börse and its clearing subsidiary Clearstream, making more than 80,000 mutual funds eligible for trading via Xetra.
 
Another involved strengthening Clearstream’s BRIC strategy with settlement access to Brazil. Deutsche Börse also started offering 10Gbit/s trading and market data connections for the first time, and 2011 also saw the launch of AlphaFlash Corporate News Germany, which delivers unscheduled corporate financial data in a machine-readable format.
 
“In addition, the first corporate SME bonds were listed in Entry Standard,” the spokesperson says. “There are no formal requirements relating to company size, sectors or minimum bond volume. Non-listed companies can also place bonds via Deutsche Börse. Xetra Release 12.0 was also launched, offering new functionalities and improved trading performance for market participants.”
 
Its integrated business model sets Deutsche Börse apart from most of the competition, and the spokesperson points out that it is well positioned in the international arena of capital markets: “Deutsche Börse will continue its growth strategy for geographic expansion and at product level, and will pursue the ongoing development of its integrated business model.”
 
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