It comes as no surprise that the man trying the steer NYSE Euronext’s merger with Deutsche Boerse views global deal making as an “inexorable trend” that needs to be embraced. Speaking at a panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference, NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer weighed in on the shape of global business, ramifications of recent regulatory changes and the evolution of technology in the exchange business.
- Niederauer said his company’s goal for 2012 is to generate one-third of its business domestically and two-thirds abroad “It is not a bad outcome for the U.S. that we will be a smaller part of the global economy … as the global economic pie gets bigger, the U.S. will be very well-positioned to explore opportunities around the world.”
- In what could be seen as a preview of how his firm might address policy issues that arise from the proposed NYSE Euronext-Deutsche Boerse merger, Niederauer cautioned against letting nationalistic “border protection” tendencies that are a consequence of the financial crisis get in the way of smart business. “Capital is not patriotic. It finds the opportunities.”
- With the Dodd-Frank Act calling for increased transparency via the movement of more transactions, such as derivatives, onto exchanges, Niederauer rejected the notion that exchanges might pose a systemic risk. “A clearinghouse is only as systemically important as the collection of its participants.”
- On the ever-changing need of clients for the most effective trading technology, Niederauer stressed customer service. “People who will win are the ones who listen to their customers and say, ‘How is your business model changing, and how can we put innovations in place that will respond to that?’ ”