The trading room, secret place and source of fantasies in finance

At Relecq-Kerhuon, on the heights of Brest (Finistère), the Crédit Mutuel Arkéa trading room offers a breathtaking view of the harbor. In cathedral silence, around thirty employees scrutinize huge screens where curves and flashing tables intertwine.

“We spontaneously think of slightly crazy people who take enormous risks, whereas our mission is quite the opposite”explains Nathalie Le Scao, saleswoman in the financial markets department of the establishment, referring to the “fantasies” that surround market finance.

The trading rooms of the big banks, often tightly closed, carry as much fascination as fear into the collective imagination, nourished by stories of golden boys and stock market crashes.

Export-oriented companies, for example, use their services to try to lighten the burden of credit or find solutions to better weather the shocks linked to exchange rates.

A dedicated team designs savings products, another borrows money on the markets and manages part of the bank’s own funds. “in a healthy and prudent manner”underlines Sandra Joly, Treasury, refinancing and foreign exchange manager at Arkéa, who exceptionally opened the doors of her trading room to AFP.

– “We don’t have a Leonardo DiCaprio” –

Their eyes glued to the screens, the thirty employees tap on their keyboards. The days of the hubbub of the Palais Brongniart on the Place de la Bourse in Paris and the orders shouted over the telephone seem far away.

“We don’t have Leonardo DiCaprio jumping on the table”laughs Ms. Le Scao, in a nod to the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”.

Work has changed since the 1980s. “Technological innovation also supports our businesses and further secures all our transactions”she adds.

The profiles of the employees, whose average age does not exceed 40 years, are varied: experts in finance, essential, but also in mathematics, IT and law.

The prestige of the trading room attracts. To work there, “you have to be able to manage a workload which can be quite heavy in a very very short period of time”recommends Ms. Le Scao.

“When the market moves a lot, you have to be reactive. We can have quite stressful days (…) but that’s what we love too, otherwise we wouldn’t do this job”she continues.

Smaller than its competitors, the Arkéa trading room has the particularity of being located outside Paris.

From its large windows, you can see the French army submarines leaving L’île Longue.

Another singularity: here, “no bought-sold in the microsecond”assures Pierre-Alain Dassé, in Sandra Joly’s team. “We really don’t intend to trade”.

Keep a cool head

The trading room also relies heavily on the expertise of its four in-house economists.

Paul Chollet, chief economist, decodes the subtext of the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, whose press conference is broadcast that Thursday live on the internet.

“What will move the market is really the gap compared to its own expectations”he explains.

Next to him, Rodrigue Mear, a member of his team, monitors in real time the rate of the euro against the dollar and the French bond rate.

A comment, even cryptic, from Ms. Lagarde on the economic consequences of the election of Donald Trump could shake prices and guide the financing decisions of Arkéa’s clients.

With around a hundred ECB meetings under his belt, Mr. Chollet speaks central banker fluently, a language made up of an infinite number of degrees of conditionals.

His analysis, expected by his colleagues, is also the subject of notes for clients, but also podcasts.

These communication tools are important for the bank and highlight its know-how.

In all circumstances, the important thing is to keep a cool head, says Mr. Chollet, and not to “overreact” to the ups and downs of the market.