FCA plans full disclosure of trading data to correct market liquidity misconceptions

Glonghui, February 9th｜According to the Financial Times, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is planning to collect and publish all trading data of London-listed stocks across various trading venues, in response to what it considers a “serious underreporting” of market liquidity—a phenomenon that has prompted some companies to shift their listings to the United States. This unconventional plan proposed by the FCA involves gathering and releasing all stock trading data from exchanges and dark pools, reflecting the regulator’s frustration with what it sees as misleading and excessively negative portrayals of UK market liquidity. Simon Walls, FCA’s interim head of markets, stated: “In fact, the liquidity of the UK market is much higher than is usually reported. This misreading is simply absurd.”