apsWire expands board, gains regulatory go-ahead

OTC derivatives dealing platform SwapsWire will expand its board of directors from nine to 13, with shareholders Bank of America, Credit Agricole Indosuez and Lehman Brothers gaining board representation along with chief executive Andrew Brown.

"We know that these leading players in the derivatives market, by participating at board level, will provide valuable insight and input to the strategic direction of SwapsWire as it evolves," said Brown.

The consortium now has 23 bank backers and has gained approval from UK regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), to offer services to dealers – expected later this year.

The electronic dealing platform for the multi-trillion dollar interest rate swaps market will also start with a larger group of dealers than originally planned. Early plans for only the nine founding members to participate in the European launch euro and US dollar swaps have been scotched with as about 20 shareholders now likely to join in.

The launch products will be euro and sterling interest rate swaps, with other European currencies following quickly. US Dollar swaps will be launched at the same time as New York-based dealers are brought on to the system, expected to be two to three months after the European launch.