On Aug. 14, the London Silver Market Fixing Company will discontinue administering the London silver fix.

The current fixing system has developed over the past three centuries and originally look place in London coffee shops.

The London silver fix is established once at day at noon Greenwich Mean Time.

According to The Silver Institute, at the start of the fixing, the three members — Bank of Nova Scotia-Scotia Mocatta, HSBC and Deutsche Bank — teleconference. Chairmanship rotates annually. The chairman announces an opening price, with the other members reporting that price to their traders. The traders inform their customers, who must decide whether to be buyers or seller at that point.

If the number of buyers and sellers are unequal, then the price is moved until balance is achieved. Once balance has been achieved, the chairman announces the price has been fixed.

While the London Silver Market Fixing Company continues to administer the silver fix until Aug. 14, steps are being taken to assign the duties to one of seven organizations from the London Bullion Market Association who delivered presentations June 20.

The seven are:

??Autilla Ltd/Cinnober Financial Technology of Sweden

??Bloomberg

??CME Group/Thomson Reuters

??ETF Securities

??Intercontinental Exchange

??London Metal Exchange

??Platts

The LBMA is consulting with its entire membership about whose proposal they prefer to replace London Silver Market Fixing Company.