Today, the SWX Swiss Exchange completed the migration of trading in international bonds to its high capacity quote platform.
Participants in the International Bonds segment (i.e. the segment including all bonds that have been admitted to trading on SWX which are not denominated in Swiss francs) will now benefit from the vastly enhanced functionality of the Quote System, which is already being used successfully for the trading of securitised derivatives.
The new trading function offers participants significant advantages:
- Rapid updating of quotes by means of a new interface especially designed for market makers
- Price takers have access via existing, installed interfaces
Ueli Goldener, Product & Services Management / Fixed Income, noted in this regard that, "Five market makers are providing liquidity in the International Bonds segment of the Quote System. As a result, a significant improvement in the bid and ask prices, as well as a noticeable increase in the size on both sides of the market, has been observed. In order to foster an even more liquid market for international bonds on SWX, trading in those instruments will incur no Exchange fees for the period between 1 August 2007 through 31 January 2008. SWX anticipates that the new trading system, combined with this fee waiver, will add to the dynamic of trading international bonds on SWX."