trueEX to shut swaps trading platform

Would-be disruptor will exit business on July 19, leaving swaps market in hands of incumbents

Sunil Hirani in 2016: “The interest rate swaps markets are near impossible to break into; they’re like a fortress.”

Interest rate swaps trading platform trueEX will close in less than a fortnight, according to a memo seen by Risk.net.

The platform’s exit leaves the swaps market in the hands of incumbents: broker-run platforms continue to dominate interdealer trading of interest rate swaps, while dealer-to-client trading will take place on Bloomberg and Tradeweb. Startups have failed to gain a foothold – and attempts to introduce all-to-all trading have also failed.

The trueEX memo, sent late yesterday,