The FIA has issued the following statement on the proposed meger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext: While the FIA European Principal Traders Association ("FIA EPTA") supports the proposed merger, we believe the competition and regulatory authorities need to mitigate, where possible, the increased market power of the merged entity.We view this merger as a unique opportunity for exchanges, market participants and regulatory authorities to work together to address a number of market inefficiencies and preserve important competitive aspects of the marketplace.

The FIA EPTA is a recently formed association of European principal traders1 under the auspices of the Futures Industry Association (FIA). The mission of the FIA EPTA is to support transparent, robust and safe markets with a level playing field for all market participants. The FIA EPTA currently consists of 17 principal trading firms that on a combined basis represent a major part of trading volumes in the various asset classes (derivatives and cash) traded on Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext. We believe that our relative market position, as well as the nature of our principal trading activities, provide a unique perspective on the proposed merger.

FIA EPTA believes that exchange consolidation has the potential to create market efficiencies in pre- and post-trade services as well as technology offerings. In addition, we are of the view that larger exchanges will be better positioned to face the challenges of bringing over-the-counter products onto on-screen execution platforms and into clearing.

The proposed merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext, however, will create an exchange with a near monopoly in European exchange-traded derivatives including a vertical silo structure in pre- trade (co-location facilities) as well as post-trade services. The combined entity will control 91% of index derivatives, 95% of equity derivatives, and 99% of interest rate derivatives.2We would welcome a dialogue with the relevant competition and regulatory authorities as well as the merging entities on a number of issues that arise from the proposed merger, including a competitive central counterparty ("CCP") environment, fair and reasonable access to market data and co-location facilities, continuation of IT innovation and an examination of the basis for licensing of indices.

Our thoughts on each of the key issues are set out below.