MTS BondsPro platform enhances market access with new pure web-based trading

2015-05-06
  • HTML 5 technology streamlines electronic trading process
  • Redesigned functionality enhances user experience
  • New colour coding for firm pricing improves speed for customers
  • Part of wider initiative to extend cross border liquidity in credit markets



MTS Markets International, Inc., part of London Stock Exchange Group (“LSEG”), today announced the launch of pure web-based trading on MTS BondsPro, its live trading platform for US Corporate and emerging market debt. The platform enhances MTS’s credit offering in the UK and US as it continues to develop new technology to promote and extend its unique fixed income liquidity structure internationally.

The new HTML 5 technology includes a colour enhancement feature that indicates ‘firm’ pricing to improve speed for customers. This enables users to view Tier 1 pricing from the most reliable liquidity sources available. As MTS continues to develop stronger relationships with liquidity providers, the posting of firm pricing will accelerate the adoption to fully electronic trading.

The MTS BondsPro platform allows both dealer and buy-side accounts to have the same access to the MTS centralized liquidity pool while remaining completely anonymous. The new offering enables login directly via a web browser, bypassing the need to download software packages and, as a result, reduces IT expense and creates timesaving efficiencies.  Improved GUI (graphical user interface) flexibility allows users to modify their live trading screen view and sort by sector, ticker, coupon, maturity, size and price. The migration to pure web-based trading is part of a series of upgrades that include enhanced API (application program interface) trading and improved list trading functionality. Future enhancements can now be deployed quickly due to the flexibility of the HTML5 framework.

Amanda Meatto, Head of US Credit Sales at MTS Markets International, said: “MTS BondsPro offers something unique to the market through our institutional all-to-all order book and cross-border liquidity pool. Following client feedback, we have significantly improved the interface functionality and user experience and, with fewer clicks to trade, streamlined the execution process.”  

Mark Monahan, CEO of MTS Markets International, added: “The transition to web-based trading is an important step forward in our continued growth in the US at MTS. We have had very favorable feedback from clients on our new HTML 5 platform and are thrilled to bring it to market.  As the move from voice brokerage to electronic trading intensifies, we will continue to invest in the platform to ensure optimum performance and trading functionality.”

To expand its Credit offering for US clients, MTS acquired Bonds.com in May 2014 and renamed the credit platform MTS BondsPro. Today, the all-to-all platform facilitates access to a diverse network of over 650 buy- and sell-side institutions across the US and UK.



About MTS

MTS Group facilitates a number of regulated electronic fixed income markets across Europe and the US that are managed centrally to ensure optimum levels of global harmonisation and consistency. Over 800 unique counterparties trade an average volume of €100 billion each day on these platforms.

The individual companies within the MTS Group are regulated by financial services regulators in a number of European jurisdictions, including Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Italian Ministry of Finance, Banca d’Italia and Consob, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). In the United States MTS Markets International, Inc. is a member of FINRA and operates MTS BondsPro, which is an ATS registered with the SEC.

MTS Cash is a comprehensive and professional cash securities trading environment for the interdealer marketplace. MTS cash includes several domestic markets regulated in different jurisdictions enabling primary dealers to access unparalleled liquidity, transparency and coverage.

MTS Repo provides an order-driven market for the electronic transaction of repo agreements and buy/sellbacks in Italy. Agency Cash Management (ACM) is a UK-regulated electronic auction platform that uses the MTS Repo technology to enable investors to enter into secured money market investments via the tri-party repo mechanism.

MTS BondVision is an efficient multi-dealer-to-client electronic bond trading platform, delivering access for institutional investors direct to market makers. MTS BondVision is accessible in Europe from the Italian and the UK legal entities and in the US through the US legal entity of MTS Group (MTS Markets International Inc.). On the BondVision platform, MTS Group provides institutional investors with real-time pricing and the ability to trade with the major dealers.

MTS Credit provides a variety of electronic execution methods for a wide range of multi-currency non-government bonds, including covered, SSA, corporate and financial bonds. MTS Credit is composed of financial instruments available to trade on both BondVision and MTS Prime.

 MTS Swaps leverages existing MTS Group distribution technology to deliver immediate access to a diverse range of liquidity providers through your chosen prime banks.

MTS Data is sourced directly and exclusively from the MTS interdealer market and includes benchmark real-time data, reference data, reference prices and historical data, providing the benchmark data source on the fixed income market.