'Key Issues Facing the Financial Markets: Time to Re-Engage'

"[O]ur market structure has gone astray," Larry Leibowitz last week told the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's annual market structure conference. "Over the past 15 years the order-handing rules, decimalization, Reg. NMS were all designed to increase transparency, level the playing field and encourage limit-order display. We now live in a completely fragmented market, with 50 or so dark pools, 10 or so exchanges, and liquidity displayed to privileged participants. Liquidity has been driven underground and there is a privileged club of people who get to see orders before the marketplace as a whole. We welcome the SEC’s comments toward looking at order-handling practices, looking at ATS practices, looking at surveillance, because the truth is, we need disclosure. We need good surveillance because when information is leaked out of the marketplace in a non-level playing field way, we need to be really careful about that."

Other points from Larry, who is NYSE Euronext's head of U.S. Markets and Global Technology:

• Moves to stabilize the economy can be nit-picked but have been "directionally right;"
• Latest initiatives from NYSE Euronext, including enhanced trading capabilities, faster platforms and new markets;
• The need for regulatory clarity, and to re-regulate in a way that is global in perspective, and not overly burdensome, punitive and ultimately self-defeating;
• Reinvention on the NYSE Trading Floor;
• Treasury's plan for greater transparency in over-the-counter derivatives is welcome; we need solutions that work for the industry as well as for the greater good;
• The new listing market of choice for tech companies;
• How the necessity of restoring confidence in the integrity and fairness of the markets sometimes means "taking medicine that we don’t like, such as the short-sale restriction;"
• The need for all market participants to step up and engage in the dialogue about structure and regulation right now, before the opportunity passes.

And more, and he presented all this in a very candid, conversational and accessible way, and took questions. (I know, I was there!) The full transcript is here. As always your comments are welcome in the box below. Have a great weekend, folks.