The patented methodology, titled 'Electronic inquiry lists for financial products', "enables investors to electronically trade a diverse portfolio of securities or derivative instruments through an auction process with a broad cross-section of market participants".

Competitive bids and offers are electronically communicated to the initiating party in order to improve efficiency and reduce transaction costs, says the dealer-owned trading network.

Richard McVey, chairman and chief executive officer of MarketAxess, comments: "The potential applications of our electronic bid and offer list technology, together with our post-trade tools for market transparency, straight-through processing and compliance monitoring, are far-reaching as the private and public sectors work to restore the flow of credit in global financial markets."