Brussels, 27/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - On 27 June the European Commission cleared the creation of an electronic trading platform, called Centradia, set up by four European banks to offer foreign exchange and a limited range of money market products . The trading platform is based in London and has been created by The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Société Générale SA, Banco Santander Central Hispano SA and Sanpaolo IMI SpA. Unlike the global foreign exchange (FX) platforms, such as FXall and Currenex, which mainly aim at the institutional market, Centradia is primarily targeted at mid-market companies. Currently, only the four founding banks are participating in the Centradia platform, but it is not ruled out that further banks will be invited to participate. After reviewing the notification, the Commission has concluded that the operation would not currently amount to a restriction of competition. In reaching this conclusion the Commission has taken into account the fact that the parent companies have put in place adequate safeguards to ensure that during the trading process there is no exchange through the platform of sensitive commercial information, which could amount to collusive behaviour. Furthermore, banks participating in the platform remain free to sell their financial products via other trading platforms or other distribution channels. The Commission has also taken into consideration the fact that the vast majority of FX transactions are still concluded off-line, although online trading is set to increase.