Plato’s Exec Retreat-A Blow to European Dark Pool Project?

(Bloomberg) via (TradersMagazine) MarketsMuse Fintech team notes that Deutsche Bank AG’s Stephen McGoldrick, who was leading a consortium of banks and asset managers in developing a new European dark pool for stocks, has decided to leave the project.

McGoldrick will return to his role as director of market structure at Deutsche Bank, according to a spokeswoman. Plato Partnership, the not-for-profit dark pool specializing in block trades, is being developed by eight banks and seven fund managers. The consortium has said it will redirect the profit it makes to academic research intended to improve Europe’s financial markets.

Stephen McGoldrick
Stephen McGoldrick

“Stephen has done an exceptional job supporting Plato Partnership through the early stages of its development,” said Joanna Crawford, spokeswoman for Plato. “The Steering Committee would like to thank him for all his hard work.”

Turquoise, a market majority-owned by London Stock Exchange Group Plc, was selected in July to build the venue. The LSE subsidiary counts Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. among its minority shareholders, and they are also among the banks backing Plato.

Dan Mathews, a senior vice-president at Citigroup Inc., and James Hayward, who works in strategic investments at Goldman, were among Plato’s original architects, along with McGoldrick, the spokeswoman said. Mathews and Hayward will remain with the project.

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