These platforms will soon allow all types of euro-denominated bonds by non-sovereign issuers to be traded across Europe, regardless of their place of issue.
PRESSE RELEASE
Launch of 3 new European Platforms for €uro denominated Corporate Bond Trading
Paris, June 24, 2011 – A demonstration was held today in Paris to present three new bond platforms to the European financial community. These platforms will soon allow all types of euro-denominated bonds by non-sovereign issuers to be traded across Europe, regardless of their place of issue.
The three new European bond trading platforms that will soon be in use – BondMatch and Galaxy in July 2011 and Credit MTS in October 2011 - are operated by NYSE Euronext, TradingScreen, and the MTS Group, respectively.
These three platforms were launched as part of the Paris financial market’s Cassiopeia
1 project, an initiative presided by Sylvain de Forges, Deputy CEO of AG2R La Mondiale, to bring liquidity, transparency and security to the European bond market. They largely fulfill the 18 technical characteristics set forth in the “Expression of Needs” established by European bond market users, issuers, investors, and intermediaries. The requirements are built around a number of fundamental principles:
- Firm orders to buy or sell
- Pre- and post-execution transparency
- System security (CCP)
- Availability to all regulated financial institutions in Europe
- Governance uniting users
The success of these platforms, a real innovation in debt securities trading in Europe, will depend on the commitment of stakeholders in the bond market, issuers, investors, and intermediaries to stimulating the market and increasing exchange volumes with less risk.
The bond platforms launched in Paris will also benefit from a new system in which issuers can buy back their own debt securities without having to cancel them. This measure is designed to enhance the activity and liquidity of the secondary market, to offer issuers new possibilities for managing their debt, and to help boost liquidity in the secondary bond market.
Sylvain de Forges, Deputy Managing Director, AG2R LAMONDIALE, Chairman of the Cassiopeia Committee underlines “The launch of these platforms is the result of regulatory and prudential evolutions underway which were either begun before the crisis or initiated because of it.
Investors need new services. The new constraints for the use of capital to balance positions taken on the OTC market has led intermediaries to use secure and regulated platforms for their trades. The organized and OTC markets are structured in a manner to meet needs which are not opposed, rather they are complimentary”.
Gérard Mestrallet, President of Paris EUROPLACE and CEO of GDF Suez stated, “These platforms illustrate the Paris financial market’s commitment to offering liquid and transparent European secondary bond markets that address both the needs of issuers seeking better visibility for their securities and the demands of investors looking for greater liquidity and a frame of reference for European securities. The launch of these trading platforms is great news; it reflects the ability of market actors to develop projects that benefit the real economy. Paris EUROPLACE is pleased to have been a driving force in such a unique, pan-European initiative and would like to thank all stakeholders who were involved, especially the members of the Cassiopeia Committee.”
1 – Cassiopeia Committee:
www.cassiopee-bonds.com
The "Cassiopeia Committee" was set up to express opinions on the consistency of projects with the “Expression of Needs,” published by the Cassiopeia Working Group on April 26, 2010. Its mission was completed in November 2010, when the Committee considered that the three draft platforms presented integrated all of the criteria in the “Expression of Needs.” These were TradingScreen’s Galaxy, NYSE Euronext’s NYSE BondMatch, and MTS’s Credit MTS.
Cassiopeia Committee Membership:
- Sylvain de Forges, Deputy CEO, AG2R - La Mondiale, Committee Moderator
- Paul Abberley, Chief Executive, Aviva Investors London
- René Karsenti, President, International Capital Market Association (ICMA)
- Stéphane Pallez, Deputy CFO, France Telecom
- Philippe Rakotovao, Managing Director, Global Head of Credit, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank
- Christophe Roupie, Global Head of Trading, AXA Investment Managers
- Etienne Stofer, Director, CRPN
Correspondents:
- Pauline Leclerc-Glorieux, Deputy Secretary General, AMF
- Jochen Metzger, Head of the Department Payments and Settlement Systems, Deutsche Bundesbank
