Octaura Holdings announced the integration of List and RFQ (request for quote) protocols on its existing syndicated loan trading platform. Octaura’s latest List and RFQ protocols offer clients faster trade execution and enhanced price transparency with straight-through processing, while streamlining trading workflows for dealers and buy-side investors.

“Octaura, at its core, is about facilitating access to, and creating efficiencies in, our markets,” said Brian Bejile, Chief Executive Officer of Octaura. “The integration of List and RFQ protocols enables our clients to execute faster and make more effective investment decisions through our seamless electronic trading solution. Octaura’s agile technology ensures liquidity providers and liquidity takers experience a straightforward and user-friendly process on our platform.”

Buy-side loan traders can initiate an RFQ by simultaneously submitting price requests to multiple dealers, receive live executable bids/offers, and transact at the best level with the dealer of their choice. Once a single line item or list is loaded to the platform, investors can view the depth and bid/offer stack, understand which dealers are axed to trade and factor Octaura’s liquidity score into their investment decision. Dealers benefit from increased trade flow with their axes highlighted to the buy side, alongside additional pricing color. 

“Octaura continues to be a growing component in our loan trading workflow,” said Tim Maloney, Head of Loan Portfolio Trading at Citi. “Octaura’s combined RFQ and Lists offering delivers significant efficiencies for both the buy and sell side. The pre-trade analytics and post-trade straight-through processing help us make more informed decisions quickly and effectively.”

The List protocol leverages pre-trade analytics that inform investors of dealer liquidity and historical loan performance. The protocol enables traders to send the portfolio of loans to multiple market makers for pricing and receive multiple prices on every line item in near real-time and allows for processing for up to 500 line items with calculations managed through the platform across all dealers in competition. 

“We are very impressed by what Octaura’s RFQ feature brings to the loan market,” said Jimmy Rong, Credit Trader and AVP at The TCW Group. “The ease of use, improved execution, and processing certainly have made day-to-day workflows more efficient with the added benefit of improved pricing. We’re excited to reap similar benefits with Octaura’s new List trading functionality.”

Octaura publicly announced the launch of its electronic loan trading solution earlier this year.  Engagement has grown quickly, with 78 buy-side firms and 10 dealers now onboarded to the platform. By continuously incorporating user feedback and rapidly releasing new functionality, Octaura has seen steady growth on the platform, with a 64 percent increase in trade volume from the prior quarter.

Source: Octaura