NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, DC, May 4, 2010 – NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced that they have agreed that FINRA will assume responsibility for performing the market surveillance and enforcement functions currently conducted by NYSE Regulation. The agreement is subject to review by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the agreement announced today, FINRA would assume regulatory functions for NYSE Euronext’s The final agreement is expected to be completed in the next several weeks, with an effective date anticipated to be at or prior to the end of June. “This agreement will strengthen market regulation by consolidating surveillance and enforcement responsibilities across multiple markets into one regulator,” said NYSE Euronext COO Lawrence Leibowitz. “Today, trading is dispersed among numerous venues, and no single regulator has responsibility for monitoring data and pursuing activity across markets. Aggregating our surveillance and enforcement functions with those already performed by FINRA for other markets is an important step on the road to creating a consistent and completely integrated approach to regulation.” “This agreement will improve investor protection by establishing a unified approach to market oversight,” said FINRA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Ketchum. “It allows FINRA to have a more holistic, cross-market approach to regulation that addresses the realities of today’s trading environment, which is characterized by fragmented markets, aggressive competition and complex trading strategies. This unified view will better enable regulators to detect problematic activity across multiple markets and financial products, and ensures that audit trail data needed for effective regulation is complete, consistently presented and transparent.” “We look forward to working with our colleagues at NYSE Regulation on a seamless transition and integration of our market oversight teams.” “Today’s agreement furthers the consolidation of regulatory services under FINRA that began with the consolidation of NASD and NYSE’s member-firm regulation that created FINRA in 2007,” said James Duffy, Interim CEO of NYSE Regulation and a member of the FINRA Board of Governors. “Our goal is to protect investors and enhance market integrity by addressing gaps in regulatory coverage and moving toward a unified system of regulation.” NYSE Euronext, through its subsidiary NYSE Regulation, will remain ultimately responsible for overseeing FINRA’s performance of regulatory services for the NYSE markets. It will also retain staff associated with rule interpretations, and oversight of listed issuers’ compliance with the NYSE markets’ financial and corporate-governance standards. The agreement involves approximately 225 staff, most of whom will be transferred to FINRA. About NYSE Euronext NYSE Euronext (NYX) is a leading global operator of financial markets and provider of innovative trading technologies. The company's exchanges in Europe and the About the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business in the Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning NYSE Euronext’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements are based on NYSE Euronext’s current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause NYSE Euronext’s results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: NYSE Euronext’s ability to implement its strategic initiatives, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk and U.S. and global competition, and other factors detailed in NYSE Euronext’s reference document for 2009 ("document de référence") filed with the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (Filed on April 22, 2010 under No. D.10-0304), 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers. In addition, these statements are based on a number of assumptions that are subject to change. Accordingly, actual results may be materially higher or lower than those projected. The inclusion of such projections herein should not be regarded as a representation by NYSE Euronext that the projections will prove to be correct. This press release speaks only as of this date. NYSE Euronext disclaims any duty to update the information herein. Press contact for FINRA:
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