CSFB's PrimeTrade, which won the bond trading award last year, fully deserved to win it again in 2002. Since last year, the bank has made a number of improvements to its system.
For example, it now offers straight-through processing on bonds and equity as well as on derivatives, through its application processing interface.
CSFB has also introduced new functionality into its trading system, such as the basket trade capability. This enables clients to create a portfolio of trades to execute in one go, which is particularly useful for sudden movements such as rate cuts.
It also makes switch trades very easy - users drag one bond into a bucket logo at the bottom of the screen, drag another in, and the switch is done. As Ed Condon, director of e-commerce marketing at CSFB, says: "The mantra of the whole thing is to keep it simple, keep it intuitively functional."
These innovations build on PrimeTrade's existing strengths - not least, the number of bonds available on the system.
Another of PrimeTrade's key strengths is its integration of trading with research, via its PrimeVision platform. Clients can click straight from a bond price to research on that bond.