Supervision by monetary authorities:
deregulation.
turnover of more than 36 billion (Fl. 100
billion) in shares on the Amsterdam Stock
Exchange, which
exceeded dealings in
bonds.
The Options Exchange,
too, benefited from the
stock market boom, the
number of contracts
rising substantially.
Further proof of the
innovative policy
pursued by the options
exchange came with the
introduction of
ECU/dollar options, 1983 1984 1985
among others, in 1985.
The buoyancy which has characterized the
Amsterdam Stock Exchange for the past three
years must not, however, blind us to the fact that
Amsterdam's position as a financial centre is
gradually being undermined. Deregulation in
various capital markets abroad and advances in
information technology are together leading to
such a degree of internationalization of capital
markets that the trade in securities will be
concentrated wherever minimum cost and
maximum service and capacity are to be found.
If Amsterdam is to retain its position as a
financial centre, especially for Dutch shares and
guilder bonds, further changes will have to be
made in a number of areas.
Some necessary steps have already been taken,
for example the liberalization of the capital
market - which is dealt with in the next section
- and the introduction of a degressive scale of
commissions, making it more attractive for
large-scale lenders and borrowers to operate in
Amsterdam. But a number of obstacles remain,
among them the stock exchange tax, the
mandatory tariffs and the rule that all
transactions must be via a "hoekman". But in
other areas, too, the service will have to be
brought more into line with the wishes of the
major parties in the market. The ABN, in
company with a number of other Dutch banks,
has therefore put forward proposals aimed at
ensuring that block dealings in Dutch shares will
continue to be concentrated in Amsterdam. To
this end, an international information network
will be set up, operating from Amsterdam,
giving the prices of Dutch securities thus making
it feasible for buyers and sellers to deal directly.
In view of the importance of these measures to
the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, we trust that
the necessary amendments to the rules of the
Stock Exchange Association will quickly be
approved.
The changes which are now taking place in
regard to the financial system, both nationally
and internationally, obviously have
consequences in the area of supervision. The
most drastic change in the supervision exercised
by the Nederlandsche Bank concerned the
liberalization of the capital market with effect
liuiü 1 January 1986. The essence of the change
lies in the fact that the central bank has
abolished or eased a number of requirements
relating to the term and redemption of loans
issued in the capital market and to the issuing
procedures. Among the practical effects are that
debenture loans with an aveiage leim uf
between two and five years and a variable rate of
interest can now be issued in the Netherlands,
and that there is no longer a limit to the amount
which a foreign borrower can obtain in the
market. As far as the method of issue is
concerned, the liberalization implies, inter alia,
SHARE ISSUES AMSTERDAM
STOCK EXCHANGE IN
BILLIONS OF GUILDERS
The stock market index and dealings in shares in particular
broke all records.
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