Inter-dealer broker TFS-Icap has confirmed plans to integrate its currency options business with electronic trading platform Volbroker.
The new business will create a consortium that combines voice broked liquidity with an FX options electronic broking platform. Mike Leibowitz, who heads TFS-ICAP, will be managing director of the combined business, which is scheduled to start trading on 1 December 2001, subject to regulatory approvals.
The widely-expected move comes two months after Reuters agreed a deal to host the Icor Brokerage currency options platform on its Dealing 3000 trading system. The Icor service will be purely electronic, in contrast to the hybrid voice and screen broking system available from the TFS-Icap/Volbroker combination, and rival platform GFInet.
David Gelber, chief operating Officer of Icap, says: "We firmly believe that bringing together liquidity from the leading voice broker and the foremost electronic platform is the key to increased efficiency in the financial markets."
Volbroker started live trading in August 2000 and has more than 60 institutions, in 200 locations, connected to the platform. Volbroker's investors are among the most actiove currency options players and include Citi Group, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland, and UBS Warburg.