Banque Bruxelles Lambert, KBC Bank and Nomura International are the latest participants to join MTS Spain, bringing the number of dealers active on the bond trading system to 22.
Launched in May this year, the Italian market operator says its Spanish operation is one of the most successful MTS markets in terms of number of participants and turnover achieved immediately after launch date.
A record turnover volume of €3.31 billion was reached on 4 October, 2002 on MTS Spain and the Spanish benchmark segment of EuroMTS, says the company. To date, the average market share of MTS in the Spanish government debt market stands at above 40%.
Gianluca Garbi, chairman of MTS Spain, comments: "The success of MTS Spain after only 4 months in operation proves the significant benefits of integrating a domestic market within the European context, as evidenced both by the rise in liquidity and the number of participating international institutions.”
With the listing of 13 Spanish treasury bills, later this week, the full range of national government securities will be available for trading on the platform, he adds.
In line with the MTS business model, the majority of the shares of MTS Spain are held by the leading Spanish primary dealers.