New players are offering similar or competing methods of price discovery, Corn said. They're able to make strategic decisions quicker and they have a lot more flexibility in how they're able to run and guide their exchanges. He said the exchange's current structure makes it hard to attract capital or form alliances. Organizations that apply for membership can buy a seat on the exchange if they meet its standards. The seat gives them the right to trade the exchange's contracts.
Members elect a board of governors, representing various segments of the trade.
When the exchange wants to make a change, it forms committees that study the issue, then goes to members to seek broad consensus. Under the proposed new structure, the exchange's management team will be accountable to the board of directors, which in turn will be accountable to shareholders. It gets you more into what is a more normal corporate structure. To get capital, the WCE now has to canvass its members or borrow from lenders. This makes it hard to launch new types of contracts, such as softwood lumber, livestock and natural gas futures.