Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo, known as the Bolsa de Montevideo or as BVM, is the principal stock exchange of Uruguay. It is based in Montevideo and was founded in 1867. The Montevideo Stock Exchange is an institution whose primary function is to provide the platform for the realization of the laying operations, trading and safekeeping of public and private securities. The placement process includes entering new values to the market, i.e., the monetary value. Trading involves the buying and selling of existing securities in the secondary market. Securities custody is a service that provides support and security to investors in the administration and marketing of its values, reducing the risk of loss, theft or forgery. In addition to providing services to its members, the BVM also provides services to the issuers of securities and society as a whole. Since 1867 the BVM asserts the tranquility of a secure and transparent market. Annually, the operators related to the BVM transact almost 3,000 million. The BVM custody more than 2,000 million dollars of its member values. BVM can hold operations for Stockbrokers and the Special Partners. To be a Stockbroker it's necessary being a member of the BVM and meeting the requirements determined by the Uruguayan laws and regulations of the Central Bank of Uruguay. The Special Partners are institutions authorized to operate that do not have quality partnership from BVM. Special Members may be banks, fund managers, pension, social security institutions and insurance companies. The BVM is administered by a committee composed of seven members Brokers partially renewed annually. In addition the Board has a BVM Fiscal Commission and a Court of Ethics, also composed by stockbrokers.
History
The Montevideo Stock Exchange has its origins in the nineteenth century, when the "Montevideo Bag Society" was created in 1867. Its main aim was to provide trade of the square of a meeting point at a fixed time, to treat the business of the day. Simultaneously, two business bodies were created: The Chambre Syndicale, representing the interests of commerce, and the Intern Brokers Commission, the regulated the activity from both. In 1921 the Commission became a civil non-profitable association, which worked as a field of stock trading and brokers guild. In 1952 this committee was renamed the "Stock Exchange". In 1997 the stock market was separated from the Stock Exchange and in 2004 adopted its current name "Montevideo Stock Exchange." During the first decade of the twentieth century stock market operations grew strongly. Between 1929 and 1933 there was a period of decline in market activity due to the crisis of 1929. From 1934 to 1947 growth came back being more involved with the growth of private equity. Between 1950 and 1970 activity shrank, persisting a shift towards short-term bank loans and the purchase of government securities. The return to growth occurred between 1970 and 1985 but, after that last year, the share of private equity shrank. In 1995 it was decided to incorporate financial institutions as special partners. In 1996 the trading activity was favored with the appearance of the Savings Fund Administrators and the Securities Market Act and Notes. The following year, the BVM developed its System Clearing, Settlement and Custody. In 2008 it began operating with the electronic Spanish Stock Market Integrated System . In Uruguay in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, many enterprises began life taking capital from the market's risk. At the time nearly 50 national companies came to list its shares on the stock.
