The long-awaited reorganization of the German stock exchanges is beginning. When it's complete, Germany's eight provincial stock exchanges will be parts of a whole rather than individual fiefs. But the changes the German exchanges are making are far from sweeping. It's essentially a series of small changes having a mighty impact.
Last year investors complained that they had the impression that the prices of major German stocks were being determined more in London than in Frankfurt, In one month in the spring more Siemens shares were traded in London than on all the German stock exchanges put together. "I don't know if that's true," said Max Lang, the investments manager of Munich Re, "but people believe it and it shows the way things were going."
Now that plans for reform have finally been agreed, bankers hope "Frankfurt will be developed as a magnetic force", said Lang. "What will happen in future is that on account of a transfer of power to a smaller but more knowledgeable group of people knowing the international markets, the German exchanges will be adapted to international standards. This will automatically increase the volume and attract more international banks to participate in the system."