Goldman Sachs vs. Credit Suisse in dark pools

Two of the biggest names in the dark pool industry have escalated their rivalry, reports Dow Jones, via the Wall Street Journal's Marketbeat blog. Back in May, Goldman Sachs inked a deal to link its Sigma X service with similar dark pools of liquidity operated by Morgan Stanley and UBS. Credit Suisse was left out. Credit Suisse is "calling 'no fair,' and pushing for SEC regulation that would force all of the more-than-40 dark pool operators to open up to everyone else." There's a certain appeal to that. As long as these liquidity sources remain fragmented, you really have to wonder about best bids, offers and such. Sigma X owns about 26 percent of the industry's market share, while Credit Suisse owns about 16 percent (Tabb Group's liquidity Matrix). The two biggest players have apparently never gotten along. In the past, the SEC has suggested that it would wait for some consolidation before deciding what to do. Credit Suisse is not sitting back. It has inked a linking agreement of its own with Instinet (see next item).

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