Effective June 1, any person or company that executes transactions in corporate or government debt securities must provide information of their trades to the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
"Fixed income transparency supports investor protection by facilitating investors' ability to make informed trading decisions," says Ian Campbell, IIROC's Chief Information Officer. "IIROC's ability to provide timely, accurate, and reliable corporate and government debt reporting information adds value to the overall regulatory system – an important element of efficient capital markets."
Since July 2016, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has leveragedthe corporate bond trade information that IIROC collects to increase transparency by having IIROC also serve as the "information processor" (IP) that publicly disseminates this data. In September 2020, the CSA expanded IIROC's role as IP to include government debt securities.
As the corporate and government debt IP, IIROC publishes free online trade information giving all market participants access.
"IIROC is committed to enhancing the integrity of Canada's debt market through more timely surveillance, enhanced oversight and increased regulatory transparency," says Victoria Pinnington, IIROC's Senior Vice-President, Market Regulation. "By leveraging the information that IIROC collects as a public interest regulator in our data hub, we are enhancing market integrity and transparency without duplicating efforts or costs. The final phase of implementation is now complete."
The IIROC Corporate and Government Bond Information website is updated daily and provides the following free of charge:
- Bond prices and volumes
- A search and display function for "issuer name" and/or "CUSIP/ISIN codes" that allows users to look up information on trades in specific bonds
- Summary level trade data
- Transaction data for each bond
- A glossary and other helpful information