This agreement enables the SIX Swiss Exchange members to access the Liquidnet’s exclusive liquidity pool while Liquidnet members with additional liquidity provided by SIX Swiss Exchange members.
SIX Swiss Exchange members will be able to use their existing front-end trading systems to trade in approximately 3600 international securities covering initially Switzerland, UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
SIX Swiss Exchange said that this arrangement will allow for price improvement as all trades conducted through the market will be based on the mid-point price of the primary exchange.
This offering is expected to go live in the second quarter of 2011.
SIX Swiss Exchange CEO Christian Katz said that having access to this additional liquidity will greatly simplify and accelerate the members’ trading activities allowing for improved investment returns by simply adopting a strategy of directing more order flow to this block trading pool.
Liquidnet Europe managing director of John Barker said that Liquidnet is extremely excited about this deal with SIX Swiss Exchange and the new opportunity for both them and us to access the wholesale market and execute large block trades with the global institutional trading community through a safe and secure trading environment.
This service is therefore good news for both our buy-side clients and SIX Swiss Exchange members, who will be able to tap liquidity that is not exposed to public markets," Barker said.
According to the SIX Swiss Exchange, its members can access the non-displayed liquidity pool with minor changes to the their standard trading interface (STI), which allows them to direct their flow towards the new service.
Individual aspects in the course of the implementation of the service will require regulatory approval. Both Parties expect to get the necessary approvals in due course.
