ICAP.com – LONDON – Four of the market’s leading electronic trading platforms BrokerTec Europe Ltd, MarketAxess Europe Limited, MTS Group and Tradeweb Europe Limited, today announced the launch of the Electronic Debt Markets Association Europe (EDMA Europe). EDMA Europe was created to represent the interests of companies whose primary business is the operation of regulated electronic fixed income trading venues in Europe.

EDMA Europe will act as a source of consultation between its members in order to develop collective views on regulatory developments affecting electronic fixed income trading venues in Europe. The Association’s primary aim is to promote the collective views of its members and have these inputs recognised by the relevant authorities and other market participants whilst taking into account the following key principles:

• open access and fair, effective and appropriately transparent markets;
• diversity of electronic trading protocols for fixed income markets to suit the range of instruments and different needs of market participants; and
• equivalent regulatory treatment of all electronic trading platforms and a consistent European regulatory approach

Membership of EDMA Europe is open to all market participants that meet the established minimum membership criteria. The activities of the association will be governed by EDMA Europe’s Executive Committee who are elected by the general membership and are responsible for the executive management of the Association. EDMA Europe has appointed David Bullen to act as Secretary-General.

“In a heavily regulated industry, multilateral trading venues such as Tradeweb have historically had limited representation,” says Simon Maisey, managing director and global head of business development at Tradeweb and founding Chairperson of EDMA Europe. “With MiFID II deadlines fast approaching, it has become imperative that trading venues are able to have an active dialogue with regulators and we believe that EDMA Europe will provide the right forum for such discussions”.

Miranda Morad, General Counsel for MarketAxess Europe and Chairperson of the Regulatory Affairs steering committee of EDMA Europe, added, “The shared expertise and resource among the EDMA Europe member firms is helping create consistency and agreement on industry-wide issues facing MTFs, and ultimately the investor and dealer clients of MTFs. The creation of this association is testament to each member firm’s dedication to solving today’s challenges.”

Angelo Proni, Head of New and Domestic Markets at MTS and member of the Executive Committee of EDMA Europe, said “The growing role of electronic trading venues in debt markets has brought the need for their key operators to express themselves through a single and consistent voice in order to promote a common agenda that will support the interests of the market at large. Electronic debt trading venues represent a cornerstone of the financial services industry and we are delighted to be part of EDMA Europe.”

“We are excited about being a member of this new trade association that will focus on representing the electronic debt markets in Europe, concentrating on regulatory policy and market structure issues that are important specifically for companies operating MTF’s, like BrokerTec Europe Ltd” said Managing Director John Edwards. “We are enthusiastic about working closely with our competitors on these topics to help shape the future for us as an electronic trading platform in these markets and for the benefit, experience of all our customers”

“I look forward to representing the views and interests of existing and new EDMA members who together operate and run an essential component of European Financial markets and who, to-date, have been underrepresented in important industry and regulatory circles” said David Bullen, Secretary-General, EDMA Europe.