Deutsche Börse and Swapstream to co-host trading platform

Deutsche Börse and London-based independent service provicer Swapstream have teamed up to offer a 'neutral' trading platform for swaps and other over-the-counter derivatives.

The platform will be designed to provide electronic price discovery, price dissemination, order and trade management and electronic negotiation for interest rate derivatives. It is expected to go live in the second quarter.

"The partnership will deliver a ground-breaking, state-of-the-art real-time trading system," said Marcus Grubb, chief executive of Swapstream. “Our combined efforts will bring vast improvements and savings to the way trading is currently transacted without changing the nature of the market.”

Deutsche Börse will host Swapstream’s technology from its Frankfurt computer base. "We believe the Swapstream market offers superior technology and connectivity to the fast-growing OTC derivatives market," said Martin Reck, chief executive of Xlaunch, a technology subsidiary of Deutsche Börse.A number of exchanges already offer interest rate swap products, including Liffe's swapnote contract and the Chicago Board of Trade's five- and- 10-year swaps futures.