Grupo mF – the Spanish electronic securities trading group which combines the MEFF futures and options market, the SENAF government bond trading platform and the AIAF corporate bond platform –
say trading volumes were up last year by 10.5 per cent to a total value of Euros 1.73 trillion.
Fixed income trading during 2002 stood at Euros 735,062 million, an increase of 59.2 per cent on the previous year. Of this sum, Euros 470,085 million relate to the trading of public sector debt through SENAF’s electronic trading platform. SENAF registered an increase of 46.5 per cent compared to 2001.
The trading of corporate debt through AIAF was Euros 264,977 million last year, an increase of 88.2 per cent on 2001.
The trading of futures and options through MEFF during 2002 stood at 49,782,464 contracts, an increase of 2.6 per cent compared to 2001.
Grupo mF (MEFF – AIAF – SENAF Holdings de Mercados Financieros SA, to give it its full name) was formed in 2001. It brings together SENAF, the electronic trading platform for Spanish government debt, MEFF, the Spanish futures and options market, and AIAF, the market for trading Spanish corporate debt. Grupo mF’s equity is ?90 million, which held by banks and savings banks (70%), the Spanish stock exchanges (19%) and stockbrokers (10%). The organisation has 163 members.
In February last year Grupo mF and the Spanish stock exchanges announced their intention to create a single holding for equities, fixed income and derivatives markets and securities registration, clearing and settlement. The entity is known as Bolsas y Mercados Espaoles, Sociedad, Holding de Mercados y Sistemas Financieros SA.
SENAF (Sistema Electrnico de Negociacin de Activos Financieros, Electronic Trading System of Financial Assets) is the electronic trading platform of Spanish Public Debt (cash bonds and repos). Launched in June 1999, SENAF operates a blind bond-trading electronic system, which means that traders have no knowledge of the counterpart with which they are dealing.
The main European banks are among SENAF’s clients, and it has operative terminals in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia). SENAF is a very liquid market, with an average daily brokerage volume of 3,000 million euros and is therefore the reference market for public debt. SENAF has an automatic connection with the CADE, the Clearance and Settlement System of the Bank of Spain.
The main contracts traded on MEFF are futures and options on the IBEX-35 (the main Spanish equity index); mini futures on the IBEX-35; futures and options on shares; futures on the Bono 10 (the Spanish government bond future); and futures and options on the S&P Europe 350 sector and on the S&P Europe itself.
AIAF is the registration and settlement market to facilitate the OTC trading of Spanish corporate debt. The main debt instruments that are currently traded through AIAF are are debentures and bonds; mortgage bonds; secured issues; preferential shares; subordinated debt; and company loan notes.