Six companies - Icap, TradeWeb, Eurex, MTS, BGC Partners and Bloomberg - are bidding to provide a new electronic trading platform for European covered bonds.
According to a Bloomberg report, the European Covered Bond Council (ECBC) met with the companies in London earlier this week to assess the bids.
Richard Kemmish, head of covered bond origination at Credit Suisse and a member of the ECBC, told reporters the Council wants to improve liquidity in the covered bond market with a central trading platform.
Covered bonds are the main source of funding for European banks offering mortgages. However, trading in the securities has been hit after dealers stopped offering prices amid concerns that the US subprime crisis was spreading to Europe.
The ECBC has attempted to encourage dealers back by increasing the amount they earn from the bid/offer spread.