RBS Global Banking and Markets Group is consolidating its trading desks onto one floor as it prepares for an upsurge in electronic equities trading in Europe over the next three years.
In an interview with Reuters, Assad Amin, head of all non-derivatives trading at RBS, said the bank is moving from being a mere liquidity provider to becoming a consolidator of liquidity and information.
"We have effectively grouped them into one trading team to become more reactive to our client base," Amin told the wire. "We have not only consolidated liquidity, but also the information flow between the trading desks. Technology can consolidate liquidity but to consolidate the information flow, you need people to talk."
The process started three to four months ago, Amin said, with traders relocating from disparate rooms to sit together on one floor. The move is in response to an anticipated upsurge in electronic equities trading, from 20% of volume now to almost half of total order flow over the next three years.