Barclays Capital Connects Directly To The Sydney Futures Exchange Providing Customers Globally With Direct Electronic Access

Barclays Capital is the latest brokerage firm to provide customers with direct electronic access to the Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE). Australian and offshore customers can now trade Australian derivative products via Barclay's front end trading system.

SFE is the most recent futures and options exchange to be added to Barclays Capital's Futures Trading Platform. "It is all part of our strategy to give unrivalled access to key data and forms an integral part of our e-commerce suite of services", commented Warwick Wright, E-Commerce Sales, Barclays Capital. "Our customers in the US, Europe and Asia already trade SFE's interest rate futures and equity index futures, but with the choice of electronic access we expect the volumes for SFE products to increase significantly."

Barclays have chosen to connect to SFE's London communications hub and utilise their own global private network.

The Barclays initiative provides direct access to a market that offers products with an attractive volatility profile and liquidity second only to the major financial exchanges of the United States and Europe. SFE is ranked the 10th largest Financial Futures exchange in the world in terms of traded volume according to the FIA Annual Report.

"This announcement reinforces the international appeal of SFE's derivatives products and global accessibility", said Robert Elstone, CEO and Managing Director of SFE. "There are now 15 brokerage firms directly connected to SFE in the US and the UK with an additional three firms due to connect in the next two weeks."