LIFFE introduces Wholesale Block Trading Facility

The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange on Friday March 26 announced that, in response to demand from major market participants, a Block Trade Facility will be introduced, with effect from 19 April 1999. The new facility will allow LIFFE members and their wholesale clients to transact business of significant size without delay and with certainty of price and execution. The facility will complement LIFFE's existing trading platforms, both open outcry and electronic. The existing platforms will continue to be the primary method for trading the Exchange's products, since the new facility is restricted to large order business, which might otherwise be traded over-the-counter (OTC). Brian Williamson, LIFFE's Chairman, said "The introduction of this facility is in accordance with LIFFE's overall aim to provide additional business opportunities for its members, and, in particular, to attract further wholesale business to the Exchange. This new facility is testimony to the Exchange's determination to meet customer expectations of efficiency, ease of access, flexibility and speed. It will ensure that the Exchange continues to provide products and facilities that complement the OTC market, as that market grows in size and sophistication".