As consolidation within the financial service and banking sectors has increased the size and geographical reach of intermediaries and fund management institutions, they seem to be pressing for market-places to become more concentrated in order both to reduce costs and to enhance liquidity.
These developments might eventually also lead to a closer coordination of trading practices and technology among stock exchanges, and the planned link-up of eight exchanges in Europe appears to point in this direction. Yet at the same time, the use of advanced information technology renders the physical location of stock exchanges less relevant.