After Big Xyt’s drop out from the EU’s consolidated tape tender, lone remaining bidder EuroCTP is a front for its exchange owners, a market structure expert says. But the provider’s CEO defends its governance and cost structure.
The European Commission’s search for an equities CTP has shrunk to a one-horse race, which is a problem according to Niki Beattie, CEO of Market Structure Partners: “If EuroCTP is the only contender, it shows the tape is deeply flawed. Exchanges have lobbied for fewer depth levels and no venue attribution, making the product unattractive to anyone who doesn’t already control the data”.
Big xyt confirmed its withdrawal on 25 June, saying it could not secure the necessary financial backing, while Aquis Exchange and Cboe Europe dropped their SimpliCT venture in January. Their exits leave EuroCTP’s 14-exchange consortium as the sole publicly announced candidate.
Read more : Big xyt withdraws bid for Equity CTP after two months – Global Trading
This outcome suits the exchanges that control EuroCTP, Beattie told Global Trading. “Clause 15 of the draft RTS even lets venues keep charging for their feeds while the tape adds another fee. That mirrors Canada, where pass-through plus consolidation charges mean hardly anyone uses the tape — users rely on partial data instead of the complete view a tape should provide. The fact the only bidder is a group of incumbent exchanges highlights a huge conflict of interest; regulators should rethink the design.”
EuroCTP chief executive Eglantine Desautel rejects the one-horse-race narrative. “We don’t assume we’re the only bidder,” she said. “We’re preparing as if this were a highly competitive tender, and ESMA will make the final choice.”
On the conflict-of-interest charge, Desautel stressed governance: “EuroCTP is a standalone entity — no HR, finance or technology functions are outsourced to our shareholder exchanges. Our capital structure is open by design and we actively welcome new investors.”
She also said she would welcome the arrival of other shareholders than the current primary exchanges one to relax the optical conflicts of interest issues raised by Beattie and other market participants.
Cost is another issue raised by Beattie. She argues stacked fees will deter users, yet Desautel insists Europe’s reasonable-commercial-basis (RCB) rules prevent that. “The tape will receive data for free, and our margins are capped by RCB, unlike in the US,” she said. ESMA’s final report on RCB caps margins for market-data products, reinforcing her point.
Desautel also disputes comparisons with Canada. “While having a non-mandated tape results in a slower and more reduced level of adoption, EuroCTP is not in favour of making the CT mandatory in the EU. In Europe the user will consume the tape because of its quality and its costs effectiveness as the incoming feed is free, margins are regulated. We have calibrated a revenue-redistribution envelope, so venues have an incentive to supply high-quality data while keeping margins reasonable.”
On the criticism that limited depth and missing venue codes will blunt usefulness, she argued for pragmatism: “Given the timeline, let us deliver what’s been agreed, gather real usage data, then give policymakers evidence for future enhancements. Our processing time allows to distribute the aggregated data less than 120milliseconds after the execution or equivalent — fast enough for the buy side’s needs.”
EuroCTP says it has held more than 300 consultations over 18 months and on 30 June announced the addition of Stephen Dorrian, Cboe Global Markets’ head of European market data and access, to its advisory committee to broaden input.
ESMA is to publish the tender results in Q4 2025 and name a provider before year-end. Potential competitors still have until 25 July to file their bids and reopen the race, unless they are already working in stealth mode.
