The addition of these two markets, which provide the primary platforms for trading on Spanish and Italian financial derivatives, brings the number of SunGard's Valdi Market Access electronic markets connections to more than 100. The Valdi service leverages the SunGard Global Network (SGN), which links high-capacity, secured hubs for order routing and market data provision in 30 financial centres around the world.

In addition, Borsa Italiana has accredited SunGard's Valdi Market Access services for connectivity to its full set of markets. SunGard manages the activities involved in procuring and managing the hardware, software and telecommunication links required for access to all of Borsa Italiana's markets,including equities, bonds, derivatives and structured products, for both local and international brokers.

Yassine Brahim, president of SunGard's global trading business, said, "The costs and operational complexity involved in physical connections to markets can inhibit the growth of international trading. SunGard's Valdi Market Access offers increased efficiency as well as growth opportunity in global trading of exchange-traded derivatives. The completion of our service for the MEFF and IDEM markets will help both local and international members to focus on their Spanish and Italian trading business, while helping to decrease their connectivity costs."