The pressure for exchanges to merge will not abate as the business continues to focus on building scale, according to the chief executive of Frankfurt-based derivatives exchange Eurex.

The increasing globalization of the trade-matching and clearing business builds pressure on exchanges to drive a greater level of activity through their electronic platforms and reduce costs, said Andreas Presuss, who is slated to serve as deputy CEO under the planned merger of Eurex parent Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE) and NYSE Euronext (NYX).

"For all of us this is a scaling business, under constant need to get more [trading volume] onto our existing infrastructure," Preuss said Wednesday at an event hosted by the Futures Industry Association.

"None of us up here would claim that they have finished" the task of luring more business to their markets, Preuss said, speaking on a panel alongside bosses of rival exchanges.

NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse last month agreed on a $25 billion combination, marking a high-water mark in a recent spate of exchange mergers that has brought tie-ups between operators in Canada and the U.K., as well as Singapore and Australia.

Preuss said that Asia will be the next area of focus for expanding exchange groups as none of the major Western hemisphere operators has yet a "significant footprint" in the region.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; 312 307 4879; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
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