Broking firm Newedge has merged its Madrid operation with that of Altura, a Spanish futures and options brokerage set up in 2000 as a 50/50 joint venture between French broker Calyon Financial and Spanish banking group BBVA.
The resulting company, which will retain the Altura brand and offer execution and clearing services, is a 50/50 joint venture between Newedge and BBVA, replacing the original partnership between BBVA and Calyon. Newedge is a 50/50 joint venture between Calyon and fellow French bank Sociéte Générale, established in 2008.
The combined entity has €1.2 billion in client assets on deposit and clears approximately 80 million contracts in the listed markets per year.
“The combination of the two companies reinforces our competitive positioning in a consolidating industry so that we can continue delivering value to our clients,” said Sverre Hasvold, CEO of the new Altura joint venture, in a statement. “Through the new joint venture, our customers in Spain and Portugal will have access to more than 85 exchanges worldwide, so wherever they need to conduct business they can be confident of local expertise.”