Brokertec is an intriguing development. It is an aggressive move by seven usually competing banks - Citibank/Salomon Smith Barney, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The inspiration for its development came from Goldman Sachs, which is why its former employees now occupy the top slots in the US and Europe.
Hal Hinkle is the new venture's global president and CEO as well as holding the same titles for the US operation: "What is so powerful and, we think, unique about the system Brokertec is putting in place is that it will be truly global and highly efficient. Through technology we will link the US and European markets together, and we will link the cash and futures markets together. The benefits of this global electronic system will be greater efficiency, transparency and liquidity for market participants."
Hinkle is not alone in being a proponent of the argument of the virtuous circle of efficiency, transparency and liquidity. His counterpart at EuroMTS, Gianluca Garbi, puts it in exactly the same terms.