TradeWeb's platform differs from Bondbook's in that, rather
than seeking to establish an exchange-like marketplace for bonds,
it is a dealer-to-user system with 13 dealers represented.
Accounting for some 85% to 90% of dealer-to-customer trading in US
government securities - often seeing volumes of up to $15 billion a
day - TradeWeb is the most successful internet bond dealership yet
established.
TradeWeb's aim is to mimic the way trades are done via the phone,
employing an electronic platform to maximize speed, efficiency and
cost savings. Users are able to submit bids to as many as five of
the 13 dealers on the system simultaneously, meaning that traders
can use the multiple-bid facility to ensure that the best prices
are on offer. Unlike Bondbook, the system is not anonymous. Though
this means that some of the crisis-time liquidity that Bondbook
considers to be the main advantage of anonymous trading may be
lost, the open platform should result in...
