Memo: Antitrust: Commission opens formal proceedings against Standard & Poor’s concerning securities identification numbers

The European Commission decided to open formal proceedings with respect to Standard & Poor's (S&P) behaviour towards end users of International Securities Identification Numbers (ISINs), for possible breaches of the EC Treaty's rules on abuse of a dominant market position (Article 82). The Commission believes that S&P may abuse its monopoly position as the US national numbering agency by forcing financial institutions (such as banks and investment funds) to pay licensing fees for the use of US ISIN codes in their own databases.

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