BIG BANG

noun Frequently written Big Bang (Business World) In financial jargon, the deregulation of the Stock Exchange in London on 27 October 1986. Hence, any far-reaching reform. Etymology: Big bang literally means 'a great explosion' and has been used since the forties to refer especially to the theory that the universe was formed as a result of a single huge explosion. Since the deregulation was to involve several significant changes in trading practices which would all be introduced at once, the whole process was likened to this explosive supposed moment of creation. History and Usage: The deregulation of the Stock Exchange resulted from a restrictive practices suit brought by the Office of Fair Trading against the Stock Exchange in 1978; this case was dropped after the Stock Exchange agreed, in 1983, to do away with minimum commissions. However, the abolition of these made it difficult for the Stock Exchange to maintain the distinction between stockbrokers and stock-jobbers, and it became clear that further changes would be needed. The term big bang was in use from about that time, as financiers discussed the respective merits of a phased introduction of the changes and a big bang approach. The main areas of change were the creation of a single category of broker-dealer to replace stockbrokers and stock-jobbers, the admission of institutions as members, and the introduction of a new electronic dealing system known as SEAQ (Stock Exchange Automatic Quotation System). Big bang is sometimes used without a preceding article ('after Big Bang', etc.); it is also sometimes abbreviated to bang, especially in post-bang, an adjective meaning 'belonging to the period after big bang'. Since the London big bang, the term has also been used in a transferred sense, for example in discussions of EMU°, with reference to economic reforms in Eastern Europe, and even to describe the new financial basis of the Health Service in the UK. In the wake of the City's Big Bang, American and Japanese banks are chasing each other to occupy the few high-tech buildings. City Limits 19 Feb. 1987, p. 10 Less than three months after Big Bang, the start of the Solidarity-led government's package of strict austerity and radical market reforms, Poland is in ruins. Economist 24 Mar. 1990, p. 65 The scale of the 'big bang' reflects the Government's determination to push through far-reaching health reforms. Sunday Express 16 Sept. 1990, p. 5 See also market maker