The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) has admitted Danske Bank A/S (“Danske Bank”) as a Primary Dealer in Irish Government Bonds. The admission of Danske Bank as a Primary Dealer is an extension of the firm’s existing trading activities on the ISE, where it has been trading in equities on the ISE’s electronic trading platform, ISE Xetra, since 2006. Danske Markets is the investment banking arm of Danske Bank Group which is present in Ireland through National Irish Bank.
The admission of Danske Bank as a Primary Dealer brings to 16 the number of Primary Dealers which are member firms of the ISE. The main role of the Primary Dealer is to continuously make markets in Irish Government bonds as well as participating in auctions organised by the National Treasury Management Agency.
Commenting on the extension of their membership activities on the Irish Stock Exchange, Brian Healy, Director of Traded Markets, Development, Operations at the ISE said “the ISE welcomes Danske Bank’s decision to expand its trading activities on the Irish Stock Exchange to include primary dealing. The addition of another primary dealer is further evidence of the strong international interest in participating in the Irish government bond market.”
"This is a market we know well and Danske Markets have been active in for some time. Primary Dealership was the next step for us and is an important part of our European government bond strategy" said Colin Cunningham, Head of Danske Markets in Ireland.