Eurex Bonds is planning to expand its range of products in a number of stages, offering bonds from international issuers as well as corporate bonds for the first time.
The first stage will involve the addition of a total of 43 new bonds – European Investment Bank bonds and European covered bonds from Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Ireland – on November 15. In addition, Eurex Bonds plans to admit selected corporate bonds before the end of the year. A further stage should see the addition of Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, and Spanish government bonds in Q1 2005, with more bonds issued by other European states to be included on the trading platform over the course of the year.
The company says the expansion of the product range was made possible by a new link, in place since the end of October, between Eurex Clearing AG, the central counterparty for all transactions concluded on Eurex Bonds, and Clearstream Banking Luxembourg. This will provide an efficient settlement solution for bonds held in international depositories.
Eurex Bonds has 31 active participants, including the German Finance Agency and the German Bundesbank. According to Eurex Bonds, interest by global participants continues to grow and more participants are currently in the link-up process.