The Boston Stock Exchange (now NASDAQ BX, formerly BSE) was an American regional stock exchange formerly located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1834, making it the third-oldest stock exchange in the United States. On October 2, 2007, NASDAQ agreed to acquire BSE for $61 million.

History

Early years and founding

thumb|100px|right|P.P.F. Degrand

The Boston Stock Exchange was founded on October 13, 1834, originally operating as the Boston Broker's Board. The exchange was established when thirteen Boston-area brokers agreed to meet daily to compare securities offerings and facilitate trading activity.

Financial historian P.P.F. Degrand was later described by Clarence W. Barron and Joseph G. Martin as "the man to whose indomitable energy and foresight the existence of the Boston Stock Exchange is largely due".

19th century

When it first opened the only available securities on the exchange were stocks in banks, insurance companies, local mills, canal projects, small mining operations, and various public debts.

20th century

The Boston Stock Exchange closed from June 30 to December 10, 1914, due to chaos created by the start of World War I. It was the first time the exchange had ever suspended operations.

During World War II, women were permitted to work on the BSE floor due to the lack of young men available to work as pages.

In 1965, the BSE switched from having an unsalaried president elected from the exchange's membership to having a full-time salaried president as part of a modernization plan.

The BSE grew in the mid-1960s when institutions began utilizing regional exchanges for "give-ups" or the sharing of commissions between brokers. On December 5, 1968, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission outlawed "give-ups", which cut the number of trades on the BSE down to 24.6 million shares in 1970.

In 1981, the BSE hired Charles J. Mohr, a 34-year-old vice president of the New York Stock Exchange, to serve as its first full-time paid chairman and CEO.

Increased computer trading in the early 1990s resulted in the BSE losing business to NASDAQ and similar exchanges. At the same time, the BSE and other regionals were harmed by rise of large institutional investors, who preferred the New York Stock Exchange to regionals. By 1992, the BSE and Philadelphia Stock Exchange were tied as the nation's smallest regional.

In 1998, a proposed merger with the Cincinnati Stock Exchange fell through when the two sides could not come to an agreement.

21st century

In its later years, the BSE served as an alternative to the New York Stock Exchange for the area's mutual fund companies. In 2001, the BSE reached its peak of 100 million shares a day. By 2005 the BOX controlled 6% of the market. The electronic system handled less than half a percent of the daily US stock transactions and it was shut down in September 2007. The sale did not include the Boston Options Exchange, which was sold later that year to the Montreal Exchange.

Locations

The Boston Stock Exchange's original headquarters was on the third floor of the Washington Bank Building at 47 State Street. In 1844, the BSE moved to the fourth floor of the Merchants Exchange. On March 28, 1853, the exchange moved to the Union Bank Building at 40 State Street. The exchange moved again ten years later, this time to the Howe Building at 13 Exchange Street. On November 9, 1885, the BSE moved back to the Merchants Exchange building, this time to the hall known as the Reading Room. The exchange temporarily moved back to the Howe Building in 1890 when the Merchants Exchange building was demolished. The exchange moved to the new Merchants Exchange building on April 20, 1891. In April 1911, the exchange moved to a two-story domed building at 53 Congress Street. In 1980 it moved to the 38th floor of One Boston Place. In 1999 the BSE moved to the old Boston Safe Deposit and Trust building at 100 Franklin Street. When the BSE was sold to NASDAQ the Boston office was closed and operations were consolidated in New York.

  • Jere A. Downs (1926–30)
  • James S. Dean (1930–33)
  • Charles A. Collins (1933–35)
  • William B. Long (1936–39)
  • John Yerxa (1939–42)
  • Archibald R. Giroux (1942–43)
  • Stearns Poor (1943–46)
  • Harry W. Besse (1946–62)
  • Weston Adams (1962–64)
  • R. Willis Leith Jr. (1964–65)
  • Frederick Moss (1965–69)
  • James E. Dowd (1969–82)

Chairmen/CEOs

  • Charles J. Mohr (1981–85)
  • William G. Morton Jr. (1985–2001)
  • Kenneth R. Leibler (2001–04)
  • Michael J. Curran (2004–07)

See also

  • List of former stock exchanges in the Americas
  • List of stock exchange mergers in the Americas

References

  • Official website