UBS to close CBOE, AMEX floor brokerage operations
Reuters, 07.10.03, 6:30 PM ET
NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - UBS AG <UBSZn.VX> said on Thursday it will close its floor brokerage operations on the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the American Stock Exchange, following in the footsteps of other brokers.
Approximately 15 UBS Investment Bank staffers will be laid off. The change came in response to "changes in the structure of the listed options market," UBS spokeswoman Amy Rosenberg said.
Floor traders on the traditional options exchanges have had to grapple with the growth of electronic trading, weakness in the equity markets, intense competition from the multiple listing of options on different exchanges as well as shrinking profit margins related to decimalization.
Since February, the New York-based, all-electronic International Securities Exchange has held onto its No. 1 position in equity options volume.
If index options are included, the Chicago Board Options Exchange is still the world's largest options exchange by trading volume.
Floor traders said Bear Stearns also cut 15 staff from its CBOE operations earlier this year.
In an internal memo, UBS said it will continue to provide listed options trades to institutional and wealth management clients.
The firm will continue to be members of and execute options and transactions on the CBOE, the AMEX and other exchanges including the ISE and the Boston Options Exchange when it commences trading. (Additional reporting by Doris Frankel)
Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service |
