European dark pools expand in face of rules limiting their use

London

STOCK trading grew faster in European dark pools last year than it did on public exchanges, signalling that a regulatory campaign to clamp down on the practice is struggling to change behaviour.

The region's dark pools - venues that don't display prices before trades take place - enjoyed a 45 per cent jump in the value of trading they handled in 2015, according to broker and equity-market operator Investment Technology Group Inc (ITG). Public exchanges saw a 28 per cent increase.