Bloomberg Rolls Out Derivatives Platform

Bloomberg has launched ALLQ, the first commingled platform for OTC derivatives trading, which it says is the foundation for building a swap execution facility under Dodd-Frank.

While the Dodd-Frank Act regulations for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives are not finalized yet, Bloomberg Fixed Income Trading Platform is introducing new functionality to help institutional investors get a step closer to compliance with the swap-execution facility (SEF)-style trading rules.

Bloomberg’s Fixed income Trading (FIT) has launched the first commingled trading platform for OTC swap trading, ALLQ Derivatives, which allows buy-side investors to review indicative prices and execute directly with dealers on the Bloomberg Professional service, the company announced today.

The new technology is the foundation for Bloomberg's development of a swaps execution facility (SEF) offering, the release states. The platform will be adapted upon finalization of the SEF rules by regulators. Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act, companies are required to trade credit-default swaps (CDS) and other derivatives products through SEFs.

The Bloomberg AllQ platform is the first to provide a full view of dealer liquidity available in the market and to provide multi-currency details on interest rate swaps (IRS) and CDS, the company contends in the release. In the IRS market, investors can review executable prices in four currencies in maturities ranging from one year to 30 years. A wide range of dealers are participating on AllQ IRS including: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, COMMERZBANK, Credit Suisse, Danske Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Société Générale and UBS. For CDS Indices, customers can execute on prices in both the CDX and ITRAXX©index suites. Participating dealers in the CDS Index markets are: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Nomura, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc and UBS.

The AllQ Derivatives platform draws upon Bloomberg's voice technology (VCON), a leading post-trade processing system for cash and derivative securities.

Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio