This week鈥檚 federal approval of the Dallas-based Texas Stock Exchange is the latest win for the city鈥檚 rapidly growing finance industry, experts say 鈥� and it could have far-reaching effects beyond what鈥檚 become known as Y鈥檃ll Street.
The exchange said Tuesday it received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, exactly a year after Gov. Greg Abbott celebrated its announcement.
TXSE leaders say they want to make it easier for companies to be publicly traded while also maintaining high standards for which companies get listed. The exchange will begin listing and trading companies in 2026.
Its approval comes after the two largest stock exchanges in the world, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, invested heavily in Dallas to get ahead of TXSE, which hopes to challenge the two financial giants.
"Real competition for corporate listings in the United States has finally arrived," James Lee, founder and CEO of TXSE, said in a.
Dallas has become the prime location for these exchanges because of big banks like,, and, most recently, increasing their footprint in or just outside the city, said Jeff Karcher, global managing director at TXSE.
鈥淚t allows for you to attract talent easier when you have somewhat of that kind of nexus of expertise in one specific kind of field together,鈥� Karcher told 四虎影院.
Dallas is the second largest employer of finance workers in the country 鈥� behind only New York City, according to. The influx of banks and exchanges has been largely attributed to Texas' lower cost of living and business-friendly politics.
"I think Dallas is creating a really amazing ecosystem," Rachel Racz, head of listings for Nasdaq in Texas said. "But Y'all Street isn't a street, it's really this economy that they're building in the city."
She said Nasdaq plans on opening a headquarters in Dallas that consolidates all of their Texas locations.
The city has become so attractive for finance workers it's pulling in industry veterans like Karcher from across the country.
鈥淚t's why I picked up and left [after] 33 years in Atlanta with a very successful career and moved to Dallas,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was very convinced about what we were doing here.鈥�
What does it all mean for Dallas
Ray Perryman, CEO of the Texas economic analysis firm The Ray Perryman Group, is optimistic about the spillover effects of Y鈥檃ll Street.
鈥淎ny economic stimulus, such as the location of major financial enterprises, leads to multiplier effects throughout the economy,鈥� Perryman told 四虎影院 in an email. 鈥淎 new firm not only provides jobs, but also opportunities for other types of businesses ranging from landscapers to cleaning firms to [financial technology] companies and others up and down the supply chain.鈥�
Professor Cullum Clark, director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative, said the exchange could encourage companies to list Texas as their home state, which could drive large investments into areas like Dallas. Traditionally, companies have incorporated in Delaware 鈥� for its favorable business laws 鈥� and traded their stock in New York, he said.
"When we create a different possibility, that's really a game changer," he said. "If even a relatively small fraction do, it's a totally different world than it's been for quite a few decades."
Clark added there are likely going to be some growing pains.
鈥淢ark my words on this, there will be no shortage of press stories about how the new, highly-paid financial crowd drives up housing prices in a way that is bad news for the people who don't make as much money,鈥� Clark said.
He also warned that while he believes the growing financial sector will help other parts of the economy, it may not be equally distributed.
鈥淚 think it's too early to say that 鈥� you see the prosperity spill over into struggling areas of southern Dallas,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淏ut I'm pretty optimistic about the general tendency of a rising tide that will to some degree lift most if not all boats.鈥�
While it鈥檚 yet to be seen how the financial sector growth will impact the wider Dallas economy, there鈥檚 also a question of whether it will maintain its momentum: The city was the center of a different banking boom in the 鈥�70s and 鈥�80s that shaped Dallas鈥� skyline, only to fall apart in the 1988 savings and loan bust.
Discussions about Y鈥檃ll Street also mirror those about another city Texas marketed as an affordable, low-tax business haven: Austin. The idea of a Silicon Valley in Central Texas has so far only partly materialized, and some data suggest the tech industry there is losing steam,. One reason, among many others, many coastal worker transplants have left the city is due to fluctuating living costs and outdated infrastructure.
Clark said a city doesn鈥檛 need a 鈥渕agical economic development鈥� plan, rather, it just needs to get the urban basics right. Those include making sure public transportation runs well, getting potholes filled and most importantly providing public safety.
鈥淚f you develop a reputation as a physically unsafe city for human beings, then everything else will be for naught,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he city will be in desperate trouble.鈥�
The city鈥檚 budget next year will have a heavy focus on funding more public safety due to Proposition U, which was approved by citizens in 2024 and requires the city to hire more police officers.
Karcher at TXSE also noted the strong involvement from the Texas and Dallas government in promoting and working with the exchanges has been helpful.
鈥淭exas, from a state level, is very deliberate in terms of the actions that they're taking,鈥� he said.
Dylan Duke is 四虎影院's Fall news intern. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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