The exchange unleashed a wave of criticism from media watchdogs March 25 when it barred the reporters from its trading floor -- a move widely seen as retaliation for the channel's coverage of the Iraq war.

Grasso, speaking to state securities regulators at a conference here, said the two affected correspondents were "not really Al-Jazeera".

"They are consultants to Al Jazerra, (they) are two terrific young men who have reported from the floor of the exchange for four years," the NYSE chairman and chief executive said.

"We are working I think in a collaborative design at some point to return them to their reporting status," he told the gathering, sponsored by the North American Securities Administrators' Association.

At the time of the ban, NYSE spokesman Ray Pellecchia said the decision to rescind the accreditation of two journalists from Al-Jazeera's New York bureau had been taken to try and accommodate a surge in requests from television networks for access to the stock exchange.

"We've had to prioritise requests that we've gotten and focus our efforts on those who focus on providing responsible business coverage, and as a result we cannot accommodate Al-Jazeera at this time," Pellecchia said.

"If we can develop more capacity in the future and they are interested in coming back, they may be allowed back," he added.

Al-Jazeera -- based in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar -- has given extensive coverage to widespread Arab criticism of the American war effort.

SPACE.WIRE