Economies of scale and scope in financial market infrastructures

Abstract

This article confirms the existence of substantial economies of scale in trading and post-trading financial market infrastructures (FMI), using the panel data of thirty stock exchanges, twenty-nine clearing houses, and twenty-three central securities depositories from thirty-six countries. We show that economies of scale are positively related to size and vertical and horizontal integration of FMI providers. Economies of scale are significantly higher in North America than in other regions. When analyzing economies of scope, we show that the efficiency of FMI providers increases with vertical (but not horizontal) integration and with a focus on a narrow range of asset classes. We also analyze implications for systemic risk.