The Boat platform is being established by ABN Amro, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS for the collection and sale of trading data following the introduction of EU's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) in November.

The system - which will collect, validate, store, manage and distribute European equity quote and trade report data - will by-pass those operated by the LSE and other European exchanges.

Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Dresdner Kleinwort, JPMorgan and RBS are the first to sign up to use the platform for pre and post-trade reporting.

Commenting on the move, Guillaume Lemarchand, co-head of global execution services at BNP Paribas, says: "While MiFID is universally seen as a positive initiative by banks that have a strong focus on execution, compliance with reporting requirements commands heavy investment, especially in terms of data.

"By teaming up with the consortium, we will minimise costs and be able to invest more in tailored client-specific products and services."

Markit and Cinnober have been selected to supply the technology that will underpin the Boat system, while BT Radianz and Colt will provide connectivity and infrastructure hosting services for the service.