Vol 5 No 3
BRIEF OBJECTS
BRIEF OBJECTS
BONDBOOK SHUTS DOWN
Bondbook closed down its online dealing platform for US high-grade and high-yield corporate bonds after operating only eight months. The platform’s format was unique, offering equal access to the buy and sell sides and allowing buy side firms to trade with each other. All 62 employees were laid off as of Oct. 31. The site struggled in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, as its high-profile backers, which included Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and UBS, shifted their attention to more pressing issues.
BONDDESK BUYS BONDNEXUS
Bonddesk bought Bondnexus, an automated municipal bond underwriting system, for an undisclosed sum. Bondnexus began life as an in-house application at Seattle-Northwest Securities and was spun off in September 2000. The platform has handled more than 300 issues, with a value of $3 billion in the first three quarters of 2001. Bonddesk will fold Bondnexus into its new-issue platform, which currently handles $1 billion per month. Bondexus’ name will change to Bonddesk Syndicate and will be fully integrated into Bonddesk.
ISE NOW THIRD LARGEST OPTIONS EXCHANGE
The International Securities Exchange announced that it has taken third place behind the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the American Stock Exchange in terms of total volume transacted in listed options, equity and index products for the month of October.
The exchange averaged 380,299 contracts daily, which represents a 16 percent market share in the issues it trades and a 12 percent overall share of equity and index options. Trading on ISE, the first fully electronic options exchange in the US, began on May 16, 2000.
SUMMIT SYSTEMS RELEASES VERSION 3.2 OF PLATFORM
Version 3.2 of the Summit transaction processing platform will contain numerous functionality improvements. The new version will support equity options, credit spread options and callable repos. The FX Trader Workstation module has added new support for FX forward time options, which includes real-time FX position management. Commercial lending has been expanded to include credit-agreement capture and management from multiple perspectives. Reuters Dealing 2000 and 3000 trade conversations are now captured in Summit, as well as real-time incremental hedging, which recalculates overall hedge results whenever portfolios are modified. An IBM Websphere MQ Series adapter has been added so that trades can be imported from external trading platforms on an MQ system queue.
LIVECLUSTER DEBUTS
Datasynapse, the distributed computing software provider, has launched Livecluster. It assists broker/dealers in market and credit risk management by using dormant resources on underutilized desktops and servers without adding more machines for computations. The platform deploys over Windows, Solaris and Linux environments with a set of APIs written in C++, Java, and XML/HTTP. The software’s main advantage is its use of networked computers for efficient data transfer; it uses peer-to-peer technology to distribute computing resources by "borrowing" space on redundant machines.
BEANS FACTORY COUNTS ON WEBGAIN
Beans Factory, a Singapore-based Enterprise Java Beans builder, is using Webgain’s Studio Professional and Application Composer products to standardize and accelerate its own product development. Beans Factory has been able to limit the inefficiencies in development work inherent in using multiple development tools and has thus been able to deliver products with increased speed. Studio Professional creates platform-neutral, standards-based enterprise applications, while Application Composer is a Java builder for the assembly of customized web applications. Merrill Lynch Japan Securities is a major consumer of Beans Factory’s large enterprise applications.
CAMERON SYSTEMS FLOATS CAMERONFIX 5.2
Cameron Systems of Kew, Australia, released the fourth version of its flagship product, CameronFIX version 5.2, which provides high-availability and monitoring capabilities in addition to the core FIX engine. The 5.2 version supports communication with non-standard FIX connections. The solution is software-only and leaves a small footprint at the client site. Performance at one client production site has been measured at 4,000 messages per second.
FCM TAKES FNX SIERRA
Fidelity Forex, a unit of Fidelity Capital Markets, has implemented the FNX Sierra Treasury System. Fidelity will use the system to strengthen its foreign exchange cash front-, middle- and back-office applications, as well as general ledger and credit limit activities. Sierra will be used as an information infrastructure and central data repository for all FX transaction processing. This marks the fourth Sierra installation in 2001.
NEXTREND RELEASES EDAT
Nextrend Technologies released the Electronic Direct Access Trading (EDAT) system, which provides trading functions and streaming quotes for brokers and their customers. The offering includes multiple streaming Nasdaq Level II windows, streaming charts, tickers, point and click and/or hot keys for trading and direct order entry, live order status, account positions and heat maps. Direct access is provided to Nasdaq SOES, SuperSOES, Selectnet and the Archipelago, Island, Redi and Brut ECNs. The platform also features encrypted connections so that compliance officers can monitor client activity over the Internet.
AVT HOOKS UP ATRIAX WITH ECHOFX
Foreign exchange trading technology firm AVT Technologies has integrated its EchoFX trading system with multi-bank portal Atriax’s platform. This means AVT is now connected to all the major multi-bank FX platforms--FXall, Atriax and Currenex. Clients that use EchoFX and Atriax will be able to achieve straight through processing for their FX trades. EchoFX is an online foreign exchange dealing system developed for banks to deal with their clients electronically, via the web or private network. Currently, users can trade spot forex, FX forwards and FX swaps on the system.
FOUR OUT OF SIX SWISS BANKS FOR SUNGARD
Schaffhauser Kantonalbank has selected Sungard’s Mint business integration product as a central gateway providing connectivity to financial networks including Swift, Secom, SIC and Eurosic. It becomes the fourth to do so of the group of six Swiss banks that developed the FIS-2000 banking package that provides business modules, including payments, loans, credit, foreign exchange and money markets, corporate actions and accounting. It joins existing Mint users Schwyzer Kantonalbank, Urner Kantonalbank, and Rahn & Bodmer Banquiers.
WESTLB CHOOSES OPENLINK FOR COMMODITIES
WestLB Global Financial Markets’ London commodities trading desk has selected Openlink’s Endur trading, risk management and transaction processing solution for its energy and precious metals trading business. The bank is working on this implementation, having recently implemented Endur for power and natural gas trading. Endur links the front, middle and back office, and it has real-time functionality for deal capture, position keeping and advanced analytics. It performs risk evaluation at the instrument level and allows traders to evaluate market, credit, volumetric and operational exposures. Users can also customize the system using development tools from Openlink.
TRAVELEX ROLLS OUT TREMA
London-based foreign exchange provider Travelex is extending the usage of Trema’s straight through processing treasury, cash and risk management product, Finance Kit, across Europe and Australia for its corporate FX business. Finance Kit is already used by Travelex in North America, and a Canadian implementation is in progress with plans to go live in the first quarter of 2002.
The system is also scheduled to go live in the first quarter of 2002 in Europe, with Australia following in the second quarter.
FIDELITY PUTS FAITH IN FNX
Fidelity Forex, the unit of Fidelity Capital Markets that provides foreign exchange pricing to institutional investors, has implemented STP solutions provider FNX’s cross-asset class trading and risk management system, Sierra Treasury. Fidelity is using Sierra Treasury to strengthen its foreign exchange cash front-, middle- and back-office operations, as well as its general ledger and credit limits activities. Sierra is providing an information infrastructure and central data repository for all FX trade processing.
