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The New York Stock Exchange is moving its 143-year-old Chicago operation to Dallas in a bid to lure new listings to what the bourse described as a “pro-business” state.
The New York institution’s move poses a direct threat to a brand new group, the Texas Stock Exchange, which last month applied to officially register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Texas has sought to position itself as a corporate mecca, luring company headquarters and domiciles to the state with the promise of light touch regulation and low taxes.
Over the past decade more than 300 companies have relocated their headquarters to the state, according to the Texas governor’s office, including Tesla, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Chevron and Charles Schwab.
More recently the state has sought to broaden its appeal beyond brick and mortar relocations and encouraged the establishment of exchanges to draw in capital through listings.
“We will become the financial capital of America,” said Greg Abbott, Texas governor, following Wednesday’s announcement. “With the launch of NYSE Texas, we will expand our financial might in the US and cement our great state as an economic powerhouse on the global stage.”
The NYSE said Texas was already the state with the largest number of listed companies, worth more than $3.7tn in market capitalisation.
“Texas is a market leader in fostering a pro-business atmosphere,” said Lynn Martin, president of the NYSE Group, who added that the state played a pivotal role in driving the US economy.
Asked for comment on its rival’s move, a TXSE spokesperson said: “The mission of the Texas Stock Exchange is to bring competition back to the markets, and we look forward to cementing Dallas as one of the financial capitals of the world.”
Pending regulatory approvals, the move will reincorporate NYSE Chicago in Dallas and rebrand it as NYSE Texas. The Chicago Stock Exchange, founded in 1882, became part of the NYSE — itself owned by Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange — in 2018.
The Chicago exchange is one of five stock exchanges operated by NYSE that serve different segments of the market.
Chicago had been focused on trading equities in forms that appeal to hedge funds and other fast-moving traders. That business would remain in place and be unaffected by the move south, with the listing element then added when approvals were granted.
NYSE declined to say how many staff it had in Chicago, although news reports at the time it bought the exchange put the number at about 80.
While the move is unlikely to make a big difference to the Windy City, it highlights the rise of rivals to Chicago’s standing as a financial centre.
At a conference in Miami this week, billionaire hedge fund boss Ken Griffin extolled the virtues of his new home after moving his Citadel empire from Chicago to Florida in 2022.
“It’s a really nice change of pace from Chicago, where invariably the conversation started with corruption and incompetence in City Hall and crime,” he told a conference hosted by UBS.
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