Ceremony on the Trading Floor
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange celebrated its 425th birthday on 10 September 2010. On 9 September 1585 the Council of the City of Frankfurt granted a petition from 84 merchants, allowing them to establish uniform exchange rates – the moment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's birth.
Prior to the start of trading there was a short official ceremony on the trading floor with Reto Francioni, CEO of the Deutsche Börse, Frank Gerstenschläger, member of the Executive Board responsible for the cash market and Markus Frank, city councilor (Stadtrat) of Frankfurt/Main responsible for the Department of Economy/Business, Personnel and Sport.
from the left: Reto Francioni, Friedrich von Metzler, Frank Gerstenschläger, Markus Frank
Deutsche Börse AG CEO Reto Francioni said that the stock exchange had had a strong connection with Frankfurt as a financial center for 425 years. This anniversary would be an apt occasion to honor those who have helped building the exchange, among them city fathers, traders, legislators and banks, said Francioni at the morning’s anniversary celebration held in the Trading Hall.
During the recent financial crisis, Deutsche Börse provided a reliable trading venue as operator of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. “Everyone was able to trade at all times, reliably and on a stable foundation, even in the most turbulent of market phases,” said Francioni. "The markets operated by our systems ran smoothly, despite being placed under extreme pressure during these phases." The problems that had occurred were attributable to non-transparent, unregulated OTC markets, which now needed some regulatory fine-tuning in terms of security and integrity. "Efficiency is also important, but it must not be pursued at the expense of security and integrity.” Regulated markets would serve as the basis for this and Deutsche Börse would do its part to protect investors.
Francioni rang the opening trading bell together with the Frankfurt City Councilor responsible for Economic Affairs, Human Resources and Sport Markus Frank. Guests at the celebration included representatives from both the financial and political arena. After trading commenced, guests were invited to an open day on the stock exchange premises.
