MTS's markets have traditionally recognised covered bonds as a distinct asset class independent of issue origin and continue to offer the largest available pool of covered bonds.

EuroCredit MTS, the inter-dealer market for high-quality covered bonds, recently listed its first Dutch covered bond, the 21/09/15 3.25% issued by ABN Amro. Seven market-makers are currently making prices in the bond, which duly meets the system’s minimum listing requirement of €2 billion. In addition, the first Italian covered bond, issued by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (31/01/13 3.00%), will be listed on EuroCredit MTS tomorrow, a development that will take the total number of quoted securities to 60.

The covered bond segment of BondVision, MTS's dealer-to-client market, has also enjoyed a series of new issues through the introduction of Austrian, Dutch, Finnish and Italian covered bonds (minimum size €1 billion) to the market, further extending a portfolio which represents the largest offering of covered bond products on any request-for-quote-based system. Liquidity has been further enhanced through the inclusion of Goldman Sachs and WestLB in the list of dealers, an addition that raises the total number of dealers in the covered bond segment to 19. BondVision has realised the highest growth of any dealer-to-client platform for the European covered bond market with monthly volumes surpassing €1 billion, a 60% growth rate compared with the previous quarter.

Ziad Awad, Co-head of Syndicate at Goldman Sachs International, commented: "We are pleased to provide enhanced service to our clients on BondVision and to complete our offer with covered bonds, the fastest growing flow market in Europe and a key part of our franchise."

Stefan Hachmeister, Head of Euro Fixed Income Trading at WestLB, said: "Given WestLB's long-standing commitment to the covered bond market, joining the list of dealers was just a natural conclusion in order to provide an integrated delivery of services over the whole spectrum of fixed-income instruments through an innovative distribution channel."

Meanwhile, in response to client demand, BondVision has developed a dedicated segment for Länder securities, namely securities of the Federal States of Germany. This segment, officially launched today, has already attracted 12 liquidity providers and will list all eligible Länder securities with a minimum outstanding size of €1 billion.

Carl Norrey, Head of Covered Bonds and Länder business at JPMorgan, said: "As the top BondVision dealer for the second quarter in a row, JPMorgan welcomes the expansion into niche sectors such as the Länder market. The enhanced liquidity provided by BondVision will benefit the end investor."

Länder securities are also listed on the inter-dealer market of MTS Deutschland.