LONDON, 28 August 2008 – BGC Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq:BGCP), one of the world’s leading inter-dealer brokers, announced today the acceptance of its euro interest rate swap (EUR) and US dollar (USD) interest rate swap pages as formally recognised price references by the International Swaps and Derivative Association (ISDA®).
Based on the endorsement of leading global banks and investment banks, the inclusion of the prices displayed by BGC Partners is seen by market participants as a vital step in reflecting underlying market activity. ISDA documentation governs the terms to confirm, mark, assign and terminate derivative transactions between counterparts and it is clearly in the interest of ISDA members to gain access to market prices from the leading industry providers. The pages will be snapshots of real-time BGC screens taken at a pre-determined time daily.
Commenting on the acceptance, Robin Clark, Executive Managing Director at BGC Partners, said “This is a significant development for our clients because it is a reflection of the widespread, and rapidly-growing, use of our screens to view real-time trading prices based on our hybrid voice, voice assisted and electronic brokerage services in a variety of products. We believe that this will contribute to market best practices and are publishing this data for the benefit of ISDA members worldwide.”
Nadim Mourad, Managing Director, Interest Rate Swaps at BGC Partners in London said “We are delighted that BGC’s euro and US dollar interest rate swap pages have been formally recognised as pricing references by ISDA and feel it reflects our position as a market leader which has been quickly established since BGC’s inception in 2004.”
In the context of the US dollar market, Rob Sutton, Managing Director, Interest Rate Swaps in New York said “The inclusion of BGC’s USD IRS screen data within ISDA Definitions is formal recognition of the comprehensive price information that we provide to our clients and the wider financial marketplace. The combination of our benchmark US Treasury and USD Interest Rate Swap liquidity, our increasing transaction volumes and ISDA’s approval are further acknowledgement of our commitment and dedication to the Interest Rate Swap market and its participants.”
The Reuters pages BGCANTOR60 for euro and BGCANTOR50 for US dollar will be referenced within the 2006 ISDA Definitions on 19th August 2008 and may be applied to transactions executed with effect that day.
The pages are published by BGCantor Market Data, a division of BGC Partners and a leading global provider of derivatives, treasury, and fixed income data to market professionals.
ISDA, which represents participants in the privately negotiated derivatives industry, is the largest global financial trade association, by number of member firms. ISDA was chartered in 1985, and today has approximately 850 member institutions from 56 countries on six continents.
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Note:
For any queries please contact your BGCantor Market Data representative as follows:
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About BGC
BGC Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGCP) is a leading, fast growing, and global inter-dealer broker, specializing in the brokering of financial instruments and related derivatives products. BGC Partners provides integrated voice, hybrid, and fully electronic execution and other brokerage services to the world’s largest and most creditworthy banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, and investment firms for a broad range of global financial products, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, futures, commodities, structured products, and other instruments. Through its eSpeed and BGC Trader brands, BGC Partners uses its proprietary, built, and paid for technology to operate multiple buyer, multiple seller real-time electronic marketplaces for the world’s most liquid capital markets. The Company’s pioneering suite of tools provides end-to-end transaction solutions for the purchase and sale of financial products over its global private network or via the Internet. BGC Partners’ neutral platform, reliable network, straight-through processing and superior products make it the trusted source for electronic trading for the world’s largest financial firms. Through its BGCantor Market Data brand, the Company also offers globally distributed and innovative market data and analysis products for numerous financial instruments and markets.
BGC’s unique partnership structure and extensive employee ownership creates a distinctive competitive advantage among its peers. Named after fixed income trading innovator B. Gerald Cantor, BGC Partners has 16 offices in New York and London, as well as in Beijing (representative office), Chicago, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Nyon, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.
To learn more, please visit www.bgcpartners.com
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