The London Stock Exchange has struck a deal with British regulator the Financial Services Authority to buy a reporting service which the LSE claims will expand its client base. The LSE said on Tuesday it had agreed to pay the FSA 15 million pounds ($24.4 million) for its Transaction Reporting System (TRS), subject to clearance from British competition regulator the Office of Fair Trading.
The LSE offers a rival service through its UnaVista system, launched in May last year, and said in a statement it would move TRS clients to that platform in due course. "The purchase of TRS will increase the breadth of clients we service, including the largest broker-dealers and smaller retail brokers, as well as fund managers and hedge funds," Mark Husler, head of business development for information services at the LSE, told Reuters. Transaction reporting is required by regulators to ensure trading firms are not using illicit practices such as insider trading or market abuse.