R3’s Corda Supports First Live Digital Bond Issuance with Euroclear’s ICSD

R3’s Corda, an enterprise distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform, has facilitated the first live digital bond issuance in collaboration with Euroclear’s International Central Securities Depository (ICSD).

This significant step forms part of Euroclear’s Distributed Financial Market Infrastructure initiative, aiming to optimise bond issuance with enhanced transparency and efficiency. The bond was issued by the World Bank, with Citi acting as the issuer agent and TD Bank as the dealer.

Liquidnet Launches Pre-Trade Analytics for Listed Derivatives in Europe and US

Agency execution specialist Liquidnet has unveiled a new pre-trade analytics solution specifically designed for listed derivatives, available in both Europe and the US. The offering delivers actionable insights, including details on volume, liquidity, activity and projected volume.

Designed to assist investors in making informed decisions before executing trades, the development utilises the existing infrastructure of Liquidnet Investment Analytics and marks Liquidnet’s debut in the listed derivatives sector.

Tradeweb and FTSE Russell Partner to Develop Next-Gen Fixed Income Index Pricing

Tradeweb Markets, a global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, and FTSE Russell, an LSEG business, have made a strategic partnership to develop next-generation fixed income index pricing and index trading products. The firms aim to provide next-generation pricing across a broader range of fixed income securities, which will be administered by FTSE Russell as benchmarks and will deliver robust, algorithmic, and reliable pricing. The closing prices amalgamate trading activity from Tradeweb’s electronic platform, enabling closer alignment with actual trading levels and intraday pricing.

In the coming months, the firms will also continue to collaborate on fixed income pricing sets to extend coverage across multiple regions and fixed income asset classes. Over time, FTSE Russell will explore incorporating Tradeweb pricing into FTSE Fixed Income indices, starting with FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI), a flagship index comprised of sovereign debt from over 20 countries and denominated in a variety of currencies.

Lisa Schirf, global head of data and analytics at Tradeweb, says: “Tradeweb’s collaboration with FTSE Russell will provide clients with verified benchmarks they can use as reliable closing prices for their end-of-day trading strategies and other purposes. The Tradeweb FTSE closing prices will create a foundation across global fixed income markets for consistent end-of-day and intraday prices.”

Alveo Research Points to Cost and Operational Benefits of Cloud Data Management

In a recent survey commissioned by Alveo, 62% of senior decision-makers believe that transferring market data to the cloud can reduce their total cost of ownership (TCO), with 77% in agreement in Asia-Pacific, compared to 46% in the UK/US. Additionally, the adoption of cloud data management is viewed as a catalyst for changes in operational models. Benefits highlighted include faster, controlled data sharing with third parties (41%), more tailored data acquisition and delivery (38%), and enhanced data governance (28%).

The research, conducted in April 2023, took opinions from directors and managers in investment management, banking, insurance, and asset ownership sectors across the UK, US, and Asia-Pacific.

Delta Capita Launches DLT-Based Solutions for Capital Markets Based on SETL Technology

Delta Capita has introduced a range of distributed ledger technology (DLT) solutions, having acquired the technology from SETL, a blockchain solutions specialist. The new product, MACH Distributed Ledger, comprises six modules that cover trade settlement, tokenisation, reconciliations, digital asset issuance and custody, KYC processes, and enhanced DLT system interoperability.

The launch marks Delta Capita’s continued effort to create a modern capital markets ecosystem, with Montis Group being a significant client for the development.

Broadridge Introduces NYFIX Fill Matching Platform for Real-time Trade Reconciliation

Broadridge Financial Solutions has launched the NYFIX Fill Matching platform, a real-time reconciliation tool tailored for asset managers with high volume or detailed orders. The new platform enhances Broadridge’s post-trade NYFIX Matching solution and is unique in providing real-time matching of fills between brokers and asset managers.

The system is designed to quickly detect trade discrepancies, allowing them to be resolved before the trading day ends. It operates by comparing drop copies of executions from the brokers with fills from the asset managers, ensuring consistent alignment and reducing end-of-day mismatches.

Bloomberg Adds Intraday BVAL Front Office Pricing Solution for Fixed Income Trading

Bloomberg has released Intraday BVAL (IBVAL) Front Office, a distinct but complementary offering to Bloomberg’s evaluated pricing service, BVAL, that uses a machine learning model to handle the intricacies of consuming billions of ticks of market data to produce frequent pricing for real-time trading decisions. The front office product delivers prices as fast as every 15 seconds and can capture a new bond issue moments after the security is available for secondary trading.

Tony McManus, global head of enterprise data at Bloomberg, says: “We launched IBVAL Front Office to provide customers with timely pricing data that easily integrates into their trading and pricing execution workflows, so they can operate faster in increasingly automated fixed income markets.” IBVAL Front Office pricing is available on the Bloomberg Terminal and via Bloomberg’s real-time market data feed, BPIPE.

SIX Collaborates with Megaport for Wider Cloud Connectivity

Swiss financial information and market infrastructure provider SIX has teamed up with Network-as-a-Service provider Megaport, to offer customers direct private access to its data services through all major public cloud providers, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud. The new service

The new initiative, SIX Connect, spans over 100 cloud regions and numerous data centres in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and is designed to give clients enhanced flexibility in data access, connecting them swiftly and securely to SIX’s streaming, web, and file-based data services, whether via the cloud or physical data centres.

Broadridge and Iress Partner to Enhance Trading Solutions for UK Market Makers

Broadridge Financial Solutions has announced a strategic partnership with financial technology software company Iress, under which Broadridge’s order management system (OMS) and its Tbricks market-making platform will be integrated with Iress’s Retail Service Provider (RSP) network.

The integration aims to provide market makers with streamlined order management, enhanced market connectivity, real-time data, analytics, and robust compliance features. The collaboration, designed to improve market data access, trade execution, and risk management capabilities, will result in a bespoke trading and connectivity solution for UK market makers, giving them comprehensive access to the retail and wealth sectors.

CJC Releases Detailed Report on Data Fabrics, Cloud and Trading Technology Panel from A-Team Group’s TradingTech Briefing

CJC have published an in-depth report on the panel session ‘Adopting Modern Data Fabrics and Cloud in Trading Technology Infrastructure’ from A-Team Group’s recent TradingTech Briefing, Buy & Build – The Future of Capital Markets Technology.

The panel, featuring Peter Williams, CJC’s Chief Technology Officer, alongside Richard Balmer of IPC Systems, Naomi Clarke of CDO Advisory and Bob Mudhar of Synechron, investigated a wide range of topics around modern data infrastructure in trading.

CJC’s full debrief of the conversation, along with analysis of audience poll results, is well worth a read at here.