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- Eurex to offer TT customers access to Eurex US market
at no cost to traders
- Front-end access to Eurex US through Trading
Technologies' X_TRADER® software
- Ferscha: Eurex US to start with the broadest immediate distribution ever
Eurex and the Chicago-based independent software vendor Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT) today announced they have entered into a software deal. Eurex and TT will offer their mutual customers access to Eurex US through the TT front-end software X_TRADER® for 24 months at no extra cost. In addition, all current TT customers will receive a free upgrade from TT's X_TRADER to the premium trading software X_TRADER® Pro for three months. TT believes its trading software is currently used for about 50 percent of the combined electronic volume of the four largest derivatives exchanges worldwide and is the most used software by traders active in U.S. Treasury bond futures. The deal will increase connectivity and access to Eurex's new US exchange and will reduce costs for customers.
By the beginning of December, 157 customers had already signed up to become members of Eurex US. Simulation has started and the pre-simulation for vendors was successfully completed by the end of November. Pre-simulation for traders began December 1. Full simulation will start on January 5.
Eurex US traders will have access to several TT software products including "Autospreader", an automated trading tool incorporated in TT's premium software platform, X_TRADER Pro. It enables traders to automatically create and simultaneously trade multiple inter and intra market spreads. X_TRADER Pro also integrates "Autotrader", which makes it possible for traders to execute complex trading strategies, quote the market and trade using links or formulas from spreadsheets directly in the application. The agreement is on a non-exclusive basis and Eurex will continue to offer its own front end as well as the open interface which forms the basis for other independent software vendors or trading firms to write to the Eurex US platform.
"This is the first time an exchange provides ISV software for their customers and we take it as a great compliment that Eurex selected TT. We've established ourselves as the premier independent software vendor. We believe that the X_TRADER platform is the most powerful and effective derivatives software available today, and we look forward to extending our customer base as Eurex offers its services in the US," Harris Brumfield, CEO of TT, told journalists at a press briefing in Chicago.
"Through this cooperation we facilitate highly sophisticated access to Eurex US at no additional cost for traders. We are pleased to team up with the leading front end provider in this market and with yet another Chicago based company," said Rudolf Ferscha, CEO of Eurex. "This agreement allows us to start our new exchange with the broadest immediate distribution ever. It will allow Eurex to leverage off the most powerful pools of liquidity in U.S. fixed income markets."
Eurex's history with TT dates back to 1994, when TT wrote its first gateway to connect traders with Deutsche Terminbörse. In fact, TT installed its first trading screens in Germany. TT has since connected to the world's leading futures exchanges and has played a pivotal role in the quick adoption and increasing popularity of electronic futures trading.
Trading Technologies (www.tradingtechnologies.com) develops high-performance trading software for derivatives professionals, including the world's premier exchanges, money-center banks, proprietary traders, securities brokers, FCMs and other trading institutions. The company's software and services provide direct access to the world's major derivatives exchanges. Headquartered in Chicago, Trading Technologies maintains a worldwide presence with offices in New York, London, Frankfurt and Sydney.
Eurex US (www.eurexUS.com) will be a registered U.S exchange based in Chicago, Illinois. Eurex US market participants will have direct access to a complete range of benchmark USD and EUR denominated interest rate futures and options on futures as well as equity index futures. With a democratic business model and no membership costs, Eurex US will offer low trading fees to all users, along with widely recognized advantages of electronic trading, such as transparency and fair access. The Eurex US trading platform will utilize the same successful Eurex technology as the most-used system for trading all U.S. bond futures.
Eurex (www.eurexchange.com) is the world's leading futures and options market for derivative instruments and the highest volume derivatives clearing organization in the world. Total clearing volume on Eurex exceeded 801 million contracts in 2002. It provides access to a broad range of international benchmark products: Eurex operates the world's most liquid fixed income markets, with 450 million contracts traded in the 2, 5 and 10 year euro interest rates. At the same time, Eurex is the leading exchange in European index products with a market share of over 70 percent. Furthermore, in the equity options business Eurex traded contracts with an underlying value of 583 billion Euro in 2002, making it the largest equity options market worldwide.
