The Firebird platform was launched into 14 CDS dealers, and presently supports the trading of High Yield (HY), Investment Grade (IG), and Loan (LCDX) CDS Index products.
Phoenix Partners said that the Firebird supports both hybrid-click trading, allowing traders to interact with their its brokers while simultaneously executing trades on their own, as well as pure-click electronic trading.
The capabilities of the Firebird platform include: real-time risk management; position limit monitoring; automated trade surveillance; ability to create audit trails; trade reconstruction functionality; supports 50,000 concurrent users; capacity to processes over 600,000 transactions per minute; automated trade posting; and Straight-Through Processing (STP) and central clearing.
The interdealer broker expects that Firebird’s functionality helps it to register as a Swap Execution Facility (SEF) under the Dodd-Frank Act when the Commodities Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) finalizes its rules governing the trading of over-the-counter swaps, which are likely to be finalized in this summer.
Phoenix Partners Group CEO and co-founder Nicholas Stephan said that Phoenix is now well prepared to qualify as a Swap Execution Facility once the CFTC finalizes its rules, and expect to be grandfathered as a SEF, and continue the operations seamlessly, once the rules take effect.
