Fascinating…..The Heritage of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) are linked to Trees !
NYSE is 218 years old and BSE is 135 years old
For NYSE it was the Sycamore or Buttonwood Tree
On May 17,1792,Twenty Four Stock Brokers of New Your City signed under the Sycamore or Buttonwood Tree at 68 Wall Street, what is called the Buttonwood Agreement that launched NYSE with just five listings !…it was short and sweet with just two sentences….that the Brokers merely trade only with each other and do not charge more than 0.25% Commission….Today NYSE boasts of over 1300 Trading Seats and over 2700 Listings
For BSE it was the Banyan Tree
In the 1850s the Stock Brokers traded under the Banyan Tree in front of the Town Hall ( now known as Horniman Circle)…then as their Numbers increased they spread a few lanes away to Banyan Trees at Meadows Street ( now known as Mahatma Gandhi Road)…finally in 1874 they moved to a lane they appropriately called Dalal Street…known even as this today….in 1875 these Brokers launched ‘The Native Share and Stock Brokers Association’….Today BSE ranks World No 1 in terms of Number of Listings…over 4900 of them
What a Tradition !… What a Heritage !…From a Tiny Acorn does a Mighty Oak Grow !…..Fascinating when you contemplate the Electronic Era Today…of State of the Art Hi Tech Offices in Concrete Skyscrapers and Impersonal Paperless Trading in Billions and Trillions !