looks like im right after all âSpeed Limitâ for High Frequency Traders â German Government Publishes Draft Legislation to Regulate Algorithmic Traders and Trading Strategies on German Trading Venues ...................................................................................................................................................................................... For many foreigners, Germany is famous for its âautobahnsâ, where drivers are usually permitted to drive as fast as their cars and traffic allow and without being restricted of an official speed limit. So far, this also has been true for using trading venues in Germany. However, the German Government now plans to introduce a âspeed limitâ for electronic trading on its regulated markets and multilateral trading facilities. A new draft piece of legislation now purports to introduce for the first time a dedicated regulatory framework for algorithmic trading on German trading venues and high frequency traders would be subject to a license requirement with, and supervision by, the German Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht; âBaFinâ). http://www.shearman.com/files/Uploads/Documents/Speed_limit_for_HFT.pdf
Most Eurex corporations are in Switzerland by now, if im not mistaken. The only exchange of note affected by this would be Xetra, i suppose.
The Old Empire fights back - nobody benefits from this except the old school banks and exchanges. The fact that they benefit from this means it's bad news for pretty much everybody else. Apart from that, the document is ridiculous: "A firm engaged in algorithmic trading must organize its trading systems in such a way that market distortions cannot occur." Perhaps someone should explain Turing to whoever wrote that, as it is demonstrably impossible to comply with. Obladi oblada.