The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is aiming to tackle a “drastic under-reporting” of market liquidity that has driven some companies to move their listings to the US by starting to publish all trading data for London-listed shares, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
“The truth is we have way more liquidity here than is often reported and that is just silly,” Simon Walls, interim director of markets at the FCA, told the London newspaper in an interview.
“We are talking to loads of parties at the moment about whether the FCA can, at a little bit of risk to ourselves, step in and just sort this out.”
In the report, the London newspaper describes the regulator’s plan to collect and publish all share-trading data from every venue, including exchanges and dark pools as “unusual”.
The FCA believes most UK market share liquidity data is under-reported because it is based only on the London Stock Exchange’s central limit order book and excludes many trades including periodic orders at the LSE.
In January, a revamped system for UK raising capital came into force, aiming to make it easier and cheaper for listed and private companies to attract funding.
The reforms are part of a raft of changes from the FCA intended to boost the appeal of the London Stock Exchange, after a downturn in new share issuance.
