Bolsa y Mercados Espanoles

The Madrid-based stock exchange, Bolsa y Mercados Españoles, or BME, began trading on Oct. 20, 1831 and offers trading in equities, fixed income, derivatives, clearing settlement market data and other services. It is an umbrella company for the firms that manage the securities markets and systems in Spain. It brings together a decision-taking and coordination unit, the Spanish equity, fixed-income and derivatives markets as well as their clearing and settlement services. 
The BME was formed by the Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia stock exchanges, MF Mercados Financieros and Iberclear and has been publicly traded since 2006. It is now a SIX Group Company, having been acquired by SIX for €2.8 billion in June 2020. It currently comprises more than 20 subsidiaries, including Bolsa de Madrid, Bolsa de Barcelona, Bolsa de Bilbao, Bolsa de Valencia, AIAF Mercado de Renta Fija, MEFF, IBERCLEAR, MAB, Visual Trader BME Consulting, BME Innova, BME Market Data and Infobolsa. 
BME has been an IBEX 35 constituent since July 2007. It is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges.
BME Clearing is the Central Counterparty (CCP) of BME Group and has been in operation managing counterparty risk for more than 30 years. It is the CCP for the financial derivatives, fixed income, swaps, equity, energy, and xRolling Futures segments.
==History==
The Bolsa de Madrid announced in early November 2009 that it would launch a warehouse for derivatives contracts and compete against the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. 
In late July 2010, BME said it planned upgrades to its existing Smart system that would allow for "sub-millisecond" trading. Its Meff futures and options arm already use the Smart system and the upgrades will bring trading in equities, ETFs, warrants, certificates and derivatives under the same umbrella. The BME’s trading system is also used by exchanges in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Ecuador. MexDer, the derivatives arm of the Mexican bolsa, uses the Smart system already used by Meff. 
BME has been slower than its rivals in adapting to the sweeping changes prompted by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid). Spanish regulations and the structure of post-trade in the country also hindered platforms like Chi-X and BATS, which have struggled to gain as much traction in Spanish equities as they have across the rest of Europe’s markets. 
On Oct. 20, 2011, the BME celebrated its 180th anniversary.
In November 2019, SIX Group bid for the exchange in a €2.84 billion ($3.14 billion) all cash offer that would make SIX the third largest exchange group in Europe. Euronext and Deutsche Boerse were also considering bids. Ultimately SIX Group won out. 
In October 2020, BME announced the launch of a new big data platform designed to improve transaction cost analysis and best execution service, allowing clients to better comply with MiFID II rules. The platform was launched through BME's subsidiary BME Inntech.
In September 2023, BME was approved by the Spanish regulator, Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), to offer a new digital assets derivatives segment. Under the EU regulatory framework, BME Clearing can now clear Bitcoin and Ethereum futures denominated in US dollars.
==Sustainability at BME==
Information about BME's corporate commitment to sustainability can be found here.
== References ==
Category:Exchanges
Category:Stock Exchanges
Category:European Exchanges