On Tuesday, the International Securities Exchange Holdings, Inc.(ISE) announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published for comment on the Form 1 application for ISE’s second options exchange.
Called Topaz, the new exchange is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2013, pending SEC approval. It will leverage?the existing technology and member connectivity from ISE’s current options exchange and it will be owned by the exchange.
Tuesday’s news of the publication is important milestone in ISE’s launch process.?
Gary Katz, President and Chief Executive Officer of ISE said in a press release,?”We are grateful that the SEC has moved forward with the publication of the Form 1 application and we look forward to launching our second exchange soon. The new Exchange will enable us to build upon our strong, well-established technology foundation and offer our members a choice in fee and market structure.” ?
From the launch of Topaz, it will become the 12th options exchange. Is 12 a crowd?
In an interview with Bloomberg,?Andy Nybo, a principal and head of derivatives at Tabb Group LLC, said, “There?s always a debate about the optimal number of exchanges in a particular marketplace. Is it two or five or 20? As long as a new exchange brings functionality and the ability to execute against liquidity in a new environment, it provides value to the marketplace.?
ISE launched in 2000 as the inaugural?all-electronic U.S. options exchange; Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1) now owns it.?
From its February volume release, the exchange said it was the?largest equity options exchange for the month with its 18.1% market share. ISE’s average daily volume for February was 2.7 million contracts, a 1.3% rise as compared to the previous year’s number.?