Q-Wixx CDS platform is launched

Q-Wixx, the New York-based electronic platform for trading large portfolios of single-name credit default swaps, saw its formal launch yesterday evening.

The product automates the process of executing offers wanted in competition and bids wanted in competition.

The platform allows clients to upload a portfolio of CDS names, containing the basic economic details of the proposed trades, and a target price, which they can then submit as a pricing request to participating dealers. The system then collects prices submitted by dealers within a given time and highlights the best prices, as well as calculating the weighted average spread of the portfolio and each sector. The trades can then be executed within ten minutes, either individually or in bulk.

Q-wixx expects to increase certainty of execution and bring operational benefits such as a reduction of human error, as well as time and cost savings. Simon Morris, head of European credit trading at Goldman Sachs in London, said he expected the system to provide "less information leakage, reduced scope of human error and increased revenue". Faster execution would also mean dealers would not have to hold prices steady for as long, reducing their market risk exposure, he added.

So far BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch and UBS have signed up to the platform, with another four expected to join soon.