Grygo is CCO for FTF.
Cboe Global Markets has postponed the re-opening of its “South Loop” trading floor until Monday, June 15, a week later than previously announced.
The reopening of the officially named Cboe Options Exchange (C1) trading floor “was previously scheduled for Monday, June 8, 2020,” according to the latest Cboe statement. “The decision to postpone the reopening is in light of closures across the city of Chicago and limited access to the area surrounding the Cboe building. Cboe is continuing to monitor the situation closely.”
The closures and limited access stem from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s recent decision to limit access to the City Center area in response to the George Floyd protest demonstrations.
“In the meantime, trading on C1, Cboe’s hybrid open outcry and electronic exchange, has been available in an electronic-only trading mode since March 16, 2020,” assures Cboe officials. Until open outcry returns, trading will remain fully electronic. Once the trading floor reopens, “C1 will revert to its hybrid trading mode.”
When open outcry trading initially resumes, it will be in “a modified manner,” according to Cboe officials.
The open outcry trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) also had a slow and careful reopening on May 26, according to Stacey Cunningham, president of the NYSE, who made the announcement via an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. (FTF News covered it here https://bit.ly/36cmSny.) The partial return of the NYSE floor followed the May 4 limited reopening of the NYSE Arca Options Trading Floor in San Francisco.
In Chicago, the C1 floor reopening plan will “accommodate open outcry trading activity, while prioritizing the safety and well-being of the trading floor community, which includes Cboe associates and trading permit holders (TPHs),” officials say. “Upon reopening, the floor will operate under rigorous precautionary measures to limit exposure to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).”
To facilitate the new normal, the Cboe consulted with an infectious disease expert, which led to the creation of “extensive health and safety protocols” such as:
- Reconfiguring the trading floor layout to allow for social distancing and capacity limits;
- The wearing of face coverings;
- Enhancing daily cleaning and sanitizing procedures;
- Conducting medical screenings at entry points of the building;
- And restricting trading floor access to trading floor personnel that have had prior approval.
Given the new standards of conduct and spacing, Cboe officials say they expect approximately 50 percent of the trading floor participants to return.
“Since the temporary closure of our floor … our markets continued to function well and allowed investors to express their views and manage risk throughout this period of extreme market conditions,” says Ed Tilly, chairman, president and CEO of Cboe Global Markets, in a prepared statement.
“Still, customers have awaited a return to hybrid trading at Cboe and all of the unique benefits it provides. We look forward to satisfying that demand and welcoming back our trading floor community,” Tilly adds.
Regardless of when the trading floor reopens, Cboe’s office in Chicago, “along with the company’s other locations across the globe, remain closed,” officials say. Some essential personnel are working in the company’s offices, but most Cboe staff members are “continuing to work remotely,” officials add.
The company’s headquarters are in Chicago but the company has domestic and global and key hubs in New York, London, Kansas City, and Amsterdam.
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