It thus becomes the first MTF approved in Spain, in compliance with the requirements set by the MiFID Directive and with the Spanish regulations that transposed this European Directive, which envisages the creation of this facility in financial markets.

The legal process, which will be completed after the approval and registration takes place, involved the takeover of Sistema Electrónico de Negociación de Activos Financieros (SENAF) by AIAF Mercado de Renta Fija.

From now on BME's Public Debt electronic trading platform, which had previously operated under the Organised Trading System (OTS) status, will be managed and governed by the Sociedad Rectora del Mercado AIAF de Renta Fija, which in turn assumes SENAF's all rights and obligations.

SENAF started operations in June 1999 as a Spanish Public Debt electronic trading platform. Among its clients are major European banks and it has operations terminals in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Paris and Frankfurt. It has automatic connection to IBERCLEAR's clearing and settlement system as well as to MEFFCLEAR for the settlement of repos. It channels cash and repos transactions linked to Treasury notes.

As regards Corporate Debt it operates a segment for the trading of cédulas (covered-bonds) and recently a new segment was incorporated for trading government-backed bonds, in the context of the anti-crisis initiatives implemented by the Spanish government.