The London Stock Exchange Group has decided to conduct a technology upgrade next weekend rather than this weekend to avoid any fall-out from the results of Greece's election on Sunday, the head of the group told Reuters. The LSE, which also owns Italian market Borsa Italiana, said it plans a scheduled upgrade to an Italian bond system next weekend "taking into consideration the upcoming European political elections scheduled for this weekend".
"The regulators didn't want it. You can understand it, you don't want a new system on the Monday if, on the Sunday, Greece decides to get out," said Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the LSE Group, told Reuters on Friday. The LSE said the decision, which was communicated privately to LSE customers on Tuesday, followed "consultation with customers, regulators and industry groups". The British exchange, like its rivals and banking customers, is braced for a possible withdrawal of Greece from the euro zone in the wake of the Greek elections over the weekend and has been testing its system to this end. "We have all of the systems ready, we are prepared and have experience.
The contingency is more what do we do when the exit of a currency is announced, there will be thousands of unanswered questions, but the volatility could stress the overall environment," said Rolet. Rolet, who last month marked his third year in charge of the LSE, does not however see any immediate exits from the euro zone. "I believe the euro will not only stay together and will likely come out, after a difficult period, strengthened," he said on Friday.
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