SWIFT today announced that the SWIFTNet FIX messaging solution will connect to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), giving investors around the globe direct access to trade stocks in the world’s leading equities market using the FIX industry standard.
The connection will give SWIFT customers represented by a NYSE member firm direct access to the Exchange’s network of order-execution services called Network NYSE. The move advances the NYSE’s strategy to provide global investors additional choice in how they access the stocks of its roster of listed global companies.
“This agreement provides a secure and reliable connection for foreign investors represented through NYSE member firms to trade NYSE-listed stocks via the SWIFT network,” said NYSE Chief Technology Officer Roger Burkhardt. “We expect that this agreement will offer customers greater choice in how they access the liquidity of our market from anywhere in the world.”
Through the SWIFTNet FIX hub, which operates on the existing SWIFTNet platform, investors will be able to directly access the NYSE’s liquidity and growing number of non-U.S. companies listed on the Exchange. The NYSE roster of listed non-U.S. companies has grown to 462 companies from 53 countries by the end of 2001, compared with 96 companies in 1990. Daily trading volume in non-U.S. stocks listed on the NYSE exceeded 117 million shares in 2001, up 17% from the previous year and representing a 10-fold increase from average daily volume of about 10 million shares in 1990.
The NYSE is the first stock exchange to leverage the SWIFTNet FIX messaging solution, capitalising on the global connectivity of SWIFT to extend its reach to a potential 7,000 financial institutions worldwide.
Its agreement with the NYSE is a strategic step forward for SWIFT, enabling it to strengthen its position in the pre-trade / trade arena. It enables SWIFT to provide both the front and back offices of securities firms and institutions with standardised messaging services that cover the entire transaction lifecycle.
“This is a key deal for SWIFT, validating the SWIFTNet FIX value proposition and cementing its presence in the trading world by providing standardised connectivity to one of the world’s most important securities players,” said Francis Remacle, Head of SWIFT’s Securities Industry Division. “With this offering, we are further advancing our strategic objective to allow our members to benefit from single window connectivity for the entire transaction lifecycle, reducing operational risks and facilitating Straight Through Processing.”
The SWIFTNet FIX messaging solution, powered by Financial Fusion, comprises a hub hosted on SWIFT’s IP network that routes, monitors and manages FIX message traffic, ensuring the high degree of security and reliability required to relay live trade information. The benefits to investment managers, broker/dealers, exchanges and ECNs utilising the SWIFTNet FIX messaging solution include faster connectivity to trading partners, lower networking costs, and easier access to counterparties worldwide.