Lehman Brothers Joins TradeWeb’s Euro Interest Rate Swaps Platform
--Thomson TradeWeb IRS now offers forward dates and off-benchmark swaps - the first available electronically on a multi-dealer system --
LONDON, 13 June 2005 - Thomson TradeWeb, part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC, TSX: TOC), a leading global provider of integrated information solutions to professional customers, announced today that Lehman Brothers will be a liquidity provider on TradeWeb's fast-growing electronic Euro Interest Rate Swaps platform. Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank with a prominent fixed income franchise, is an active market maker in interest rate derivatives.
The firm's endorsement of electronic Interest Rate Swaps trading in the dealer-to-client space underscores the growing market demand for TradeWeb's proven technology. Lehman Brothers joins the IRS platform's founding members JPMorgan, Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, HSBC and ABN AMRO, and more dealers are preparing to join the system.
TradeWeb also announced that its IRS platform has been significantly expanded to offer forward starting interest rate swaps and off-benchmark swaps. Using TradeWeb Swaps 'request for quote' (RFQ) model, institutional investors can now tailor their transaction beyond plain vanilla swaps to incorporate specific termination dates and other parameters. TradeWeb is the only electronic multi-dealer system to offer this new functionality.
The extended trading platform is the only one of its kind to be fully integrated with ISDA confirmation functionality, providing further efficiencies to the buy- and sell-side, including significant reductions in operational risk, and improvements in operational efficiency.
Lee Olesky, President of Thomson TradeWeb, commented: "Electronic Swaps trading has been rapidly accepted across the buy- and sell-side markets, and we are very pleased to count Lehman Brothers among our leading liquidity providers. Our initial group of buy-side customers has more than doubled since we launched the interest rate swaps platform in February, and we expect to have some 100 customers across Europe by the end of the year. Additionally, we remain on track for adding other currencies and enhancing functionality further in the coming months."
Thomas Siegmund, Head of Interest Rates Trading at Lehman Brothers said: "Electronic connectivity with our clients on a competitive IRS trading platform augments our growing Fixed Income franchise to a global clientele. A multi-dealer platform covering the complete trade cycle is a natural choice for Lehman Brothers."
Guido Behrendt, Head of Asset Swaps at Deutsche Postbank AG, commented: "TradeWeb is establishing itself as an important tool for us when trading interest rate swaps. We are very pleased with the system -- it is fast, flexible and easy to use."
Notes to Editor:
TradeWeb's multi-dealer swaps platform allows trading and confirmation in spot and forward 3-Month and 6-Month EURIBOR IRS and EONIA OIS - both outright and spread trades. Clients are also able to electronically trade and confirm off-benchmark, tailored Interest Rate Swaps via the TradeWeb RFQ trading model
ISDA is the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, founded in 1985 by 18 dealers, to develop standard terms and documentation for interest rate swaps.
About Thomson TradeWeb
TradeWeb is the leading online fixed-income trading network with over 7 million trades executed and total volume surpassing $80 trillion since its inception in 1998. TradeWeb's multi-dealer auction model links 160 trading desks of 35 of the world's leading fixed-income dealers with more than 2,000 buy-side institutions in North America and Europe.
The business is also the leading electronic "straight-through processing" network for the fixed-income markets, providing dealers and buy-side institutions with paperless trade allocations and confirmations on its fully integrated TradeXpress network. TradeWeb's STP network also includes AccountNet™, the leading standard settlement instructions database.
Thomson TradeWeb operates within the Thomson Financial group of businesses. TradeWeb LLC is a member of the NASD. TradeWeb Europe Limited is authorised and regulated by the U.K. Financial Services Authority.
About Thomson Financial
Thomson Financial is a US$1.73 billion provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to more than 20 million business and professional customers in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With revenues of US$8.10 billion, The Thomson Corporation lists its common shares on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).