Bond e-trading soars

A move by Goldman Sachs to introduce a full electronic trading system for bonds has come at a time that the industry as a whole is stepping up IT-driven trading. While stocks and shares trading has long been automated in many organisations, bond traders have often stuck with desk-based trading.

New figures have shown a dramatic growth in bond trading automation, with electronic processing of fixed income trade volumes up 21 percent in a year, according to a report detailed in the Financial Times.

The figures by trade processing firm Omego show there was also an 85 percent jump in electronic processing in US wholesale funding markets, while there was a moderate growth in Europe where there is the highest level of automation.

The change is prompted by cost, as well as meeting transparency rules such as Dodd-Frank in the US, experts said. Banks are increasingly tasking automated systems with ensuring better back office control and more transparent accounting of funds.