| Jim Toffey | ||||||
TradeWeb's platform differs from Bondbook's in that, rather than seeking to establish an exchange-like marketplace for bonds, it is a dealer-to-user system with 13 dealers represented. Accounting for some 85% to 90% of dealer-to-customer trading in US government securities - often seeing volumes of up to $15 billion a day - TradeWeb is the most successful internet bond dealership yet established.
TradeWeb's aim is to mimic the way trades are done via the phone, employing an electronic platform to maximize speed, efficiency and cost savings. Users are able to submit bids to as many as five of the 13 dealers on the system simultaneously, meaning that traders can use the multiple-bid facility to ensure that the best prices are on offer. Unlike Bondbook, the system is not anonymous. Though this means that some of the crisis-time liquidity that Bondbook considers to be the main advantage of anonymous trading may be lost, the open platform should result in greater price competitiveness.