BME presented in Barcelona today its Fixed Income Market electronic trading platform for retail investors, created through its Fixed Income Market (AIAF).
The new platform has started operations under the name Sistema Electrónico de Negociación de Deuda (SEND) and is a major step towards enhancing the transparency and liquidity of the Spanish Corporate Debt Market.
The participation of retail investors in Fixed Income securities has grown considerably over the last few years. With this new platform, retail investors will have access to a wider pool of liquidity and more transparency, in line with the requirements of the new regulations, especially those of the MiFID Directive and national and international regulators and supervisors.
SEND will enable the protection of retail investors, allowing them to enter and exit the market and buy and sell bonds in an easy, direct and transparent manner, in similar fashion to the cash markets and more independently and autonomously. At the same time, the platform provides retail investors with an objective price reference for fixed income assets.
Francisco de Oña, Chairman of AIAF, said during the presentation that SEND: "facilitates access to the market by retail investors and it is also a major step towards improving the transparency and liquidity of the market".
Joan Hortalá, Chairman of the Barcelona Stock Exchange, stated: "the volume of private savings is growing notably, which will foreseeably encourage issuers to tap this market through new issues of Fixed Income securities".
The Corporate Debt assets included in SEND are single bonds and obligations, a hybrid product called "participaciones preferentes", subordinated obligations, tax-exempt obligations, covered bonds and notes with maturities of more than 6 months issued from 2009, with a nominal amount equal or less than €1,500 and geared to retail investors.