Thomson Reuters SEF (Swap Execution Facility) which in January this year obtained permanent CFTC registration captured the bulk of dealer-to-client Forex flows in the final quarter of 2015, according to data from Clarus Financial Technology.
The data shows that Thomson Reuters SEF captured 55% of the trading flow in the FX dealer-to-client market segment in Q4 2015.
This piece of news is announced as non-deliverable forwards (NDF) volumes on the Thomson Reuters SEF have surged 322% and FX options volumes have risen by more than 2000% in the 24 months to year-end 2015.
Tod Skarecky, VP Americas at Clarus Financial Technology, says,
“We have monitored SEF trading activity since its inception in October 2013. Thomson Reuters has consistently been the top performer, with particularly notable growth in options activity throughout 2015.”
The Thomson Reuters SEF allows customers to trade FX options, NDFs and NDF swaps electronically through multibank request-for-quote liquidity and an anonymous central limit order book. Aimed to assist customers in meeting their FX trading, clearing and reporting obligations as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, the Thomson Reuters SEF offers a comprehensive workflow solution with straight-through processing and settlement.
Jodi Burns, global head of regulation and post-trade at Thomson Reuters Corp (NYSE:TRI), notes,
“Since launching in October 2013, volumes on the Thomson Reuters SEF have been steadily growing but in 2015 due to significant interest in FX options trading and growing acceptance of the value of trading on regulated platforms, we saw a real jump in the number of buy-side firms choosing to route trades via our SEF. This has seen the majority of FX dealer-to-client volumes flow through our platform in the last quarter which is a significant achievement in such a competitive market.”
“Our recent permanent CFTC registration is also welcome official recognition that our technology, governance and operational procedures are of the high standards required to manage and operate a quasi-exchange. Now that the rigorous approval process is behind us, we look forward to working with the CFTC on further developing the SEF rules and adding additional functionality to the platform at the request of customers.”