The phrase
Big Bang, used in reference to the sudden deregulation of financial markets, was coined to describe measures including the abolition of the distinction between
stockjobberStockjobbers were institutions that acted as market makers in the London Stock Exchange. Prior to "Big Bang" in 1986, every stock traded on the Exchange passed through a jobber's book, where they acted as intermediaries between stockbrokers...
s and
stockbrokersA stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors.- United States :...
on the
London Stock ExchangeThe London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1801, it is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, with many overseas listings as well as British companies...
by the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
government in 1986.
This change in the rules of the
London Stock ExchangeThe London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1801, it is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, with many overseas listings as well as British companies...
occurred on 27th October 1986, dubbed "
Big Bang DayIn financial markets and particularly in the City of London, Big Bang Day refers to 27 October 1986, when the UK financial markets were deregulated.-Further reading:**...
. Big Bang (never "
the Big Bang") was so called because the abolition of fixed commission charges precipitated a complete alteration in the structure of the market.
The phrase
Big Bang, used in reference to the sudden deregulation of financial markets, was coined to describe measures including the abolition of the distinction between
stockjobberStockjobbers were institutions that acted as market makers in the London Stock Exchange. Prior to "Big Bang" in 1986, every stock traded on the Exchange passed through a jobber's book, where they acted as intermediaries between stockbrokers...
s and
stockbrokersA stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors.- United States :...
on the
London Stock ExchangeThe London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1801, it is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, with many overseas listings as well as British companies...
by the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
government in 1986.
This change in the rules of the
London Stock ExchangeThe London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1801, it is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, with many overseas listings as well as British companies...
occurred on 27th October 1986, dubbed "
Big Bang DayIn financial markets and particularly in the City of London, Big Bang Day refers to 27 October 1986, when the UK financial markets were deregulated.-Further reading:**...
. Big Bang (never "
the Big Bang") was so called because the abolition of fixed commission charges precipitated a complete alteration in the structure of the market. One of the biggest alterations to the market was the change from
open-outcryOpen outcry is the name of a method of communication between professionals on a stock exchange or futures exchange which involves shouting and the use of hand signals to transfer information primarily about buy and sell orders...
to
electronic, screen-based tradingElectronic trading, sometimes called etrading, is a method of trading securities , foreign currency, and exchange traded derivatives electronically. It uses information technology to bring together buyers and sellers through electronic media to create a virtual market place. NASDAQ, NYSE Arca and...
.
Other reforms were enacted at the same time, and it was the aggregation of the measures plus the expected increase in market activity that led to the event being called
Big Bang.
In the UK, Big Bang became one of the cornerstones of the
ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She is the only woman to have held either post....
government's reform programme. Prior to these reforms, the once-dominant financial institutions of the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
were failing to compete with foreign banking. While London was still a global centre of finance, it had been surpassed by New York, and was in danger of falling still further behind.
Thatcher's governmentThe Premiership of Margaret Thatcher began on 4 May, 1979, with a mandate to reverse the UK's economic decline and to reduce the role of the state in the economy...
claimed that the two problems behind the decline of London banking were overregulation and the dominance of elitist
old boys' networksAn old boy network, or society, can refer to social and business connections among former pupils of male-only private schools.This can apply to the network between the graduates of a single school, also known as an old boy society and similar to an alumni association. It can also mean a network of...
, and that the solution lay in the
free marketA free market describes a market without economic intervention and regulation by government except to regulate against force or fraud. The terminology is used by economists and in popular culture. A free market requires protection of property rights, but no regulation, no subsidization, no single...
doctrines of unfettered competition and
meritocracyMeritocracy is a system of a government or other organization wherein appointments are made and responsibilities assigned to individuals based upon demonstrated talent and ability . In a meritocracy, society rewards those who show talent and competence as demonstrated by past actions or by...
.
The effects of Big Bang were dramatic, with London's place as a financial capital decisively strengthened, to the point where it is arguably the world's most important financial centre along with New York,some say even above New York. An economic boom created a new class of
nouveau richeNouveau riche , or new money, refers to a person who has acquired considerable wealth within his or her generation. This term is generally to emphasize that the individual was previously part of a lower socioeconomic rank, and that such wealth has provided the means for the acquisition of goods or...
that has persisted for two decades, and the boom expanded beyond the City into new developments in the
Isle of DogsThe Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is bounded on three sides by one of the largest meanders in the River Thames. To the north are the West India Docks, and the only road access to the island is across the two bridges that cross the eastern and western entrances to...
area, particularly that of Canary Wharf.
Some critics have charged that the deregulation, and the atmosphere that it created, were responsible for such scandals as the
BaringsBarings Bank was the oldest merchant bank in London until its collapse in 1995 after one of the bank's employees, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million speculating - primarily - on futures contracts.-History:...
collapse, although others argue the opposite, that the failure to completely disestablish the old boys' networks was to blame.
Subsequent similar actions, such as the deregulation of the
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese financial markets in 2001, have analogously also been tagged with the phrase Big Bang.
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