LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - The London Stock Exchange

Group's ( LDNXF ) FTSE Russell unit has dropped plans to add

Chicago Board Options Exchange owner Cboe to the group

of currency data providers used to calculate its WMR FX

benchmarks after pushback from users.

FTSE Russell proposed adding Cboe's data for ten top

currencies almost a year ago, but it said on Wednesday that user

consultations showed it "could not be considered sufficiently

equivalent to the current WMR Spot FX Benchmark primary data

sources".

A spokesperson for Cboe said it was disappointed by the

decision and that it looked forward to engaging with both FTSE

Russell and the wider FX industry as it seeks to enhance the

governance around the WMR Benchmarks.

FTSE Russell's statement added that differences around

liquidity, trading parameters and availability suggested there

would be "significant practical challenges and complexities" in

incorporating the Cboe data.

It may have also "diminished the utility of the benchmarks

by influencing market behaviors" and "reduced the

representativeness of the WMR Spot FX Benchmarks by allowing

curated transactions that are not sufficiently transparent to

market participants".

FTSE Russell said it was also starting a consultation on

removing State Street's Currenex data from its euro, yen and

Swiss franc WMR FX benchmarks.

The consultation will focus on "operational considerations"

of the proposed removal, such as the appropriate notice period

for market stakeholders.

A confirmation, including the effective date of the change,

will be provided "as expediently as possible", it added, saying

that Currenex data would continue to be used until then.

Currenex did not immediately provide a response to FTSE

Russell's announcement.

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