Brazil, Mexico Converge Via CME

LatAm’s 2 biggest exchanges will soon be connected through a single trading platform, thanks to a deal by the Chicago based-CME Group to bring Mexico’s Bolsa onto its Globex system. With Brazil’s BM&FBovespa already plugged into Globex, which stretches across 85 countries and boasts 120,000 active users, and the Mexican exchange soon to come online thanks to a deal announced Monday, a new intra-regional flow between LatAm’s liquidity centers will be established. Bryan Durkin, COO of CME, tells LatinFinance the focus of the new efforts has been to foster interconnectivity with all of its clients, but notes the linkup does provide an unprecedented link between Brazilian and Mexican investors. “A number of investors in Brazil have expressed strong interest in Mexico,” says Durkin. CME Group has agreed to purchase a 1.9% stake in Mexico’s stock exchange, the BMV, for $17m. The agreement is similar to a 2008 deal between CME and the BM&FBovespa that involves mutual order routing into and out of both exchanges, as well as an asset swap with commensurate board participation by the CME on the local exchanges. The deal also includes Mexico’s derivatives exchange MesDer.