Barclays and PaineWebber are currently making active markets in several dozen bond issues and plan to continuously expand their dealing activities. On 1 June 1999, CSFB became the first market maker on SWX Eurobonds. Thanks to them, the trading platform was able to reach a critical mass of trading volume. Ever since CSFB - and, as of 18 October 1999, also UBS - started posting firm competitive quotes, a steadily growing number of market participants have been trading Eurobonds on the SWX platform. Today that total amounts to more than 40 participants.
The globally increasing trend towards the automation of securities dealings, as reflected for example by the success of the electronic communication network and Internet-based trading, is forcing all market participants to increase productivity in the way they go about executing and processing orders. The fully integrated SWX trading and clearing platform affords participants a decisive cost advantage in their Eurobond trading activities and makes life easier for them by automating their retail order flow.
SWX operates the most efficient trading platform in the international retail market for Eurobonds: with SWX Eurobonds, London-based market makers for example obtain a distribution channel that enables them to serve Swiss retail and institutional clients in the most efficient manner possible. For participants located in Switzerland, this SWX platform is a highly transparent means of entry to the Eurobond market that provides them with the best possible pricing. Authoritative market data are disseminated in real-time via the leading providers of financial information services, as well as on a time-delayed basis via the Internet.
