T-Zero expects more trades this month following Friday debut

UK-based credit derivatives platform T-Zero expects to see more trades in the next couple of weeks following its inaugural trade on Friday, says Mark Beeston, the platform's president.

Goldman Sachs, a long-standing partner and supporter of T-Zero, put through the first trades on Friday with KBC Alternative Investment Management, a UK hedge fund. These transactions were followed up with further activity yesterday. Beeston refused to comment on the size of the trades, but said: "This was a number of trades - some were in bundles and some were unconnected trades, from multiple trading strategies."

No other banks have traded using T-Zero yet, but Beeston said this is set to change. "We expect a number of other banks to use [T-Zero] in the next two weeks, at least two major banks in the next two to three weeks," he said.

Widespread use of T-Zero in credit derivatives trades could lead to large-scale savings - and redundancies - at major dealers, Beeston said.

"T-Zero captures and corrects the errors before the documentation goes out," said Beeston. "Matches should become a formality... the majority of people supporting documentation at a dealer will be handling documentation issues, chasing up errors and so on. This can run into the hundreds for a major dealer, so there are significant savings to be had," he added.