Source: MarketAxess Holdings
MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX), the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for U.S. and European high-grade corporate and emerging markets bonds, today announced the addition of Bonds Direct, a division of Jefferies & Company, Inc., as a participating dealer on MarketAxess' U.S. high-grade and U.S. agency platforms.
The addition of Jefferies brings the total number of dealers participating on the MarketAxess global platform to 23.
"We are pleased to welcome Jefferies as a participating dealer on the MarketAxess platform," said Richard M. McVey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MarketAxess. "MarketAxess is committed to providing superior technology solutions and unmatched liquidity to our broad base of institutional investment clients. The addition of Jefferies will further enhance our market-leading position in client-to-dealer e-trading services in the credit markets."
Lee Fensterstock, Managing Director of the Bonds Direct Division of Jefferies, said, "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to participate on MarketAxess. MarketAxess' position as the leading electronic trading platform for corporate bonds will allow us to broaden our distribution to its large pool of active institutional investors."
With the addition of Jefferies, the MarketAxess U.S. high-grade platform has 19 dealers providing liquidity, and approximately 400 institutional investor firms actively participating. Trading volume in U.S. corporate bonds totaled $54.8 billion in the first quarter 2005, as compared to $45.0 billion in the same period in 2004. Participating dealers on the U.S. high-grade system now include ABN AMRO, Banc of America Securities, Barclays PLC, Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank Securities, FTN Financial, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, J.P. Morgan Chase, Jefferies, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, RBS Greenwich Capital, UBS and Wachovia Securities.