SWX Group, SIS Group and Telekurs Group complete merger effective 1.1.2008 Switzerland's financial market infrastructure has been reorganised.
Effective 1 January 2008, the SWX Group, SIS Group and Telekurs Group will be combined into a single entity: Swiss Financial Market Services AG. With this step, the Swiss financial center has created the conditions which, thanks to first-rate services in the areas of securities trading, clearing and settlement, payment transactions and market data, will strengthen ever further its competitiveness and innovative power and maintain long-term Swiss sovereignty over the country's financial market infrastructure.
In particular, this reorganisation of the infrastructure enables new services to be rendered across the entire value chain, as well as a further increase in efficiency. Swiss Financial Market Services will therefore strive to play a leading role in terms of quality, price and innovation in the services it renders. The new enterprise is owned solely by its users, which in turn ensures that customer interests will be the focal point of all decisions. The ownership structure, which is cemented for the long term by a shareholders agreement, ensures stability and reliability in the years to come.
Prof. Dr. Peter Gomez, Chairman of the Board of SFMS, commented on this step by stating: "By merging Switzerland's financial market infrastructure, we are fostering customer orientation and innovation, heightening efficiency, and contributing to the reinforcement of Switzerland as one of the world's most important financial centres."