New rules requiring banks and brokers to guarantee their Nordic share trades through a central clearing house, which come into force tomorrow, could increase volumes by half within two years and lead to an influx of new trading firms, according to the head of Nasdaq OMX in the region.

The decision to oblige traders to clear transactions through Dutch group EMCF from tomorrow will make 2009 "the biggest year ever for the Nordic equity markets in terms of change," and could lead to a 50% rise in trading volumes in two years, according to Hans-Ole Jochumsen, president of Nasdaq OMX Nordic.