Search

The arrival of the European Union’s €100bn Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) issuance programme in October 2020 catalysed secondary trading activity in the sovereigns, supranationals and agencies market. Tradeweb’s easily customisable platform has been giving both buy- and sell-side participants automated and efficient tools to take advantage of the opportunities SURE has opened up.

The end of Libor is fast approaching and much progress has been made around the world in transitioning to alternative reference rates. However, it is complex and challenging process and one where market participants need to be adaptable as regulators give further guidance. At a recent Risk.net roundtable produced in association with Tradeweb, senior risk professionals based in Asia-Pacific gathered to discuss the state of play in the Libor transition.

The following data is derived from trading activity on the Tradeweb Markets institutional European- and U.S.-listed ETF platforms.

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the majority of the US fixed income marketplaces took its first steps towards an unprecedented ascent of growth in overall market size and trading volumes. For US Treasuries, size has nearly quadrupled and volume grown by 60%. Over the same period the US Credit market has doubled in size and volumes grown by 80% (Exhibit 1).

Headline inflation in the U.S. hit 4.2% annualized in April, a level we’ve not seen since 2008. The data surprised economists, stoked rate fears and raised the specter of a market revolt by so-called “bond vigilantes”– fabled as sentinels of the U.S. Treasury market in times of increased government spending and borrowing. Since the late 1990s, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) have provided an alternative to plain-vanilla Treasuries for re-positioning during times of rising inflation.

Ten-year government bond yields saw little volatility in May, with the largest move in either direction coming from France. The mid-yield on the country’s 10-year benchmark note shifted further into positive territory, ending the month nearly 11 basis points higher at 0.17%. Revised data from statistics agency, Insee, showed a decline in gross domestic product of 0.1% in the first quarter of 2021, mainly due to the inclusion of construction numbers. However, French business and consumer confidence rose by 12 points to 108 in May, the highest level since April 2018.

NEW YORK – June 3, 2021 – Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, today reported total trading volume for May 2021 of $19.6 trillion (tn). Average daily volume (ADV) for the month was $980.4 billion (bn), an increase of 23.9 percent (%) year over year (YoY).

Li Renn Tsai compares progress in Asia’s main trading hubs, warning of a logjam of transition-related operational work that will pile up towards year-end.

Along with all other markets, derivatives trading was significantly affected by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures adopted to address it. As financial markets entered uncharted territory, we saw volumes spike, margin calls rise and some regulation implementation dates delayed. However, the end date for LIBOR transition has on the whole stayed fixed at December 2021 (although USD LIBOR will continue at a staggered rate until June 2023), and we continue to plan and work towards a world without new LIBOR risk from January 2022 onwards. The LIBOR transition, therefore, remains an important paradigm change for the markets, with many aspects still to resolve to ensure an effective shift.

NEW YORK – May 24, 2021 – Tradeweb Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: TW), a leading, global operator of electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, today announced it will participate in the ‘virtual’ Piper Sandler Global Exchange & FinTech Conference on Wednesday, June 9, 2021.