Bloomberg has launched a global electronic trading platform for interbank foreign exchange transactions, Bloomberg PowerMatch FX.
In a move which pitches Bloomberg into rival Reuters' core foreign exchange trading territory, PowerMatch FX incorporates a multi-layered credit matrix that helps banks define their eligible conterparties and set multiple credit limits by duration. The platform also offers users anonymity and trading tools designed to help them cope with volatile FX markets.
"We are giving the market a new way to look at electronic trading," says Andrew Hausman, head of Bloomberg PowerMatch. "Credit and risk managers will like that we offer an electronic system for Forwards dealing with a credit matrix that prevents their firm from trading with unapproved counterparts."
Key features include continuous pricing, anonymous trading, and straight through processing. In addition, says Hausman, tools such as Peg, Reserve, and Reserve-Scaleback are combined with monitors that draw pricing, news, and analytics from the Bloomberg database, giving dealers the opportunity to create unique trading strategies for electronic FX.
Currencies traded on Bloomberg PowerMatch FX include the euro, pound sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss franc and Canadian Dollar.