MTS, part of London Stock Exchange Group, launches electronic trading platform for Cypriot govt bonds
From today, primary dealers will be able to electronically trade Cypriot debt on MTS Cash.
MTS, part of London Stock Exchange Group, today announces that it has launched a designated electronic trading platform for Euro-denominated Cypriot government bonds.
The addition of Cyprus to MTS’s interdealer market, MTS Cash, takes the number of countries on the market to 21. From today, primary dealers will be able to electronically trade Cypriot debt on MTS Cash, which offers a liquid, transparent and efficient European bond marketplace with real-time pricing from its central limit order book. MTS has been operating electronic fixed income markets for 30 years, developing technological expertise in both government and corporate debt market operations.
Seven primary dealers have signed up as liquidity providers for the platform including Barclays Bank, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs International, HSBC France, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Société Générale.
Fabrizio Testa, Chief Executive Officer at MTS, commented:
“We’re delighted to welcome Cypriot bonds into the group of dedicated order books available on the MTS Cash platform. MTS facilitates the trading of billions of Euros daily across European bond markets by a network of over 100 global dealers. Our trading infrastructure will now enable primary dealers on MTS to trade Cypriot government debt efficiently while benefiting from automated settlement. It will also provide Cyrpus’ debt management office with direct access to international investors and the deep liquidity of Europe’s secondary markets.”
MTS Cash is a comprehensive and professional cash securities trading environment for the interdealer marketplace. Over 100 unique counterparties trade on the system each day and average daily turnover exceeds EUR 115 billion across MTS platforms.
Trades on Cypriot Government bonds settle at Euroclear Bank and Clearstream Banking Luxembourg. MTS sends Swift settlement instructions on behalf of both participants to the relevant ICSD. MTS participants must hold a securities account at one of the two ICSDs either directly or indirectly through a custodian.
The settlement cycle is T+2. The settlement calendar follows the TARGET calendar skipping value date only on TARGET non-business days.