EC aims for near-real-time consolidated tape

Exchanges say the plan is too ambitious and would trigger a latency arms race

The European Commission wants to create a consolidated tape that will deliver trade-data to investors in seconds rather than minutes – an ambitious goal that puts it at odds with exchanges, which have called for a 15-minute delay in reporting transactions.

John Berrigan, the EC’s directorate-general for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union (DG Fisma), said that while the aggregated feed of prices and volumes did not have to operate at lightning speeds, reporting