MEFF
From MarketsWiki
| MEFF (Mercado Español de Futuros Financieros) | |
| |
| Founded | 1989 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Madrid, Spain |
| Key People | Fernando Centelles, CEO |
| Products | Futures and options in equity indexes and single stocks |
| Web site | http://www.meff.es/ing/indexi.htm |
The Mercado Español de Futuros Financieros, better known as MEFF, is a Spanish electronic exchange that provides trading, clearing and settlement of futures and options in single stocks and equity indexes, including the benchmark Ibex 35.
MEFF is part of the publicly listed Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles (BME) exchange holding group formed in 2003, and ranked 25th among global futures exchanges by volume in 2006, trading 47.2 million contracts, a 17 percent rise over the prior year.[1] It has a strategic alliance with the Mexican Derivatives Exchange, in which it holds a 7.5 percent stake.
Contents |
History
| This page is sponsored by... |
 |
Spain’s derivatives sector was restructured in 1991, combining the MEFF in a single holding company, Mercado de Futuros Financieros, with the Madrid-based Mercado de Opciones Financiero Espanol (Mofex), which had been created to list stock futures and options.
The Barcelona operation, known as Meff Renta Fija, listed interest rate and currency products, while the Madrid-based Meff Renta Variable offered equity products.
The partner exchanges were then folded into the new Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), which combined into Spain's four stock exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia, together with the AIAF fixed-income exchange and Senaf, a venue for public debt trading. The BME listed 30 percent of its shares on the Madrid Stock Exchange on July 14, 2006. The Spanish central bank retained a 5.3 percent stake, while Santander and BBVA, the country's two largest banks, hold a combined 14.1 percent.
Structure and Regulation
The enlarged MEFF unit includes: MEFF RF; MEFF RV, which is the counterparty for equity derivatives; MEFFCLEAR, the central counterparty for fixed-income trading; the MEFF Services data processing business; AIAF and Senaf.[2]
MEFF has 114 members, diversifying its base with a push into international markets, opening telecommunications hubs in London and Chicago and securing an exemption from the CFTC to offer products in the U.S.[3] The MEFF is regulated by the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV).
Derivatives trading accounted for 8.5 percent of BME revenues in 2006 – compared with 45.5 percent for cash equities. The derivatives trading business recoded an operating profit of E12.9 million in 2006 on revenues of E23.9 million.
Product Development
The slide in government bond futures following the creation of the eurozone was alleviated by the creation of one of Europe’s most liquid markets for single-stock futures, and equities have been the focus of product development and volume growth.
Futures on the Ibex 35 benchmark index remain the single largest contract, rising 40 percent year-on-year to 6.5 million in the nine months to September 2007, with min futures on the contract up 134 percent to 2.1 million over the same period. Options on the Ibex climbed 12.5 percent to 4 million.
Single stock futures volumes fell 21.6 percent to 12.7 million in the first nine months of 2007, while equity options climbed 3.4 percent to 9.2 million, leaving overall volumes flat at 34.5 million over the first three quarters.[4]
Stock futures were launched in January 2001, with U.S.-style options added in February 1993. Futures and options were extended to all companies on the Ibex 35 in January 2007.
SSFs on 40 European stocks were launched in September 2007, adding to the 36 domestic contracts. The new contracts included 22 stocks listed on Euronext, 11 on Deutsche Borse, six on the Borsa Italiana and one on the OMX.[5]
Resources
References
- ↑ Volume Growth Accelerates. FIA. Retrieved on December 13, 2007.
- ↑ Company Structure. BME. Retrieved on December 13, 2007.
- ↑ The Art of Survival. FIA. Retrieved on December 13, 2007.
- ↑ eMEFF newsletter. MAFF. Retrieved on December 14, 2007.
- ↑ Press Release. MEFF. Retrieved on December 14, 2007.
