E*Trade changes tack in European expansion

US-based online stockbroker E*Trade is refocusing its European operations.

Among the changes is an expansion of its Dublin IT centre to cover the whole of Europe and the company is also in talks with retailers about opening investor shops in stores. However, research company Compeer says that trading in the UK is stagnant and that the rate of growth in the number of UK investors is slowing. As a result, E*Trade is considering a move away from online transactions and establishing a bricks and mortar presence in the UK. Baharieh Ajami-Green, a spokeswoman for E*Trade, played down the report. She said: "We have grown 100 per cent year on year. UK trading only seems slow in comparison to France and Germany. People in the UK have less available money. They put their money into houses and mortgages. This isn't the custom in France and Germany." Germany has about seven times as many online investors as the UK's estimated 250,000.