The Stockholm and Helsinki exchanges are to become the first European stock markets to donate penalties docked on their members for violation of rules to charity.

The exchanges, members of Nordic and Baltic stock market operator OMX Group, will next month open a foundation dedicated to independent research into the Nordic financial markets. They will fund the institute through fines levied on market participants for rule-breaking, such as improperly pricing trades. Other European exchanges, including Euronext and the London Stock Exchange, plough such fines back into their surveillance systems, which boosts profits. Anders Ackebo, vice-president of surveillance at OMX, said: "We think it is inappropriate to use money taken in fines to improve group profits."
The members of the foundation's board of directors will be Jonas Niemeyer, an adviser on financial stability at the Swedish Central Bank, Jarmo Leppiniemi, a professor at the Helsinki School of Economics, and Jukka Ruuska, head of market operations at OMX.