Nasdaq OMX Group and nine major financial firms enhance trading of 144-A equity securities

The Nasdaq OMX Group and nine major financial firms have formed The Portal Alliance LLC to provide qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) with a platform for over-the-counter trading of 144-A equity securities. These securities are a type of highly liquid, unregistered private securities.

Citi, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, UBS, Credit Suisse, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Securities, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the founding firms. This will enable the issuers and institutional investors to use improved method for communication, leading to growth in the 144-A equity market. A trade negotiation platform will be created for issuers and QIBs that will make the institutional equity market more efficient and transparent. This platform will provide trade data useful to access issuer information.