Interdealer broker ICAP has announced that it has expanded the range of securities available on its electronic securities lending platform i-Sec to include exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded commodities (ETCs).
This is the first time European ETFs have been made available on an electronic lending platform. Currently, i-Sec facilitates screen-based access to securities lending in equities from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and Japan.
Roy Zimmerhansl, head of securities lending at ICAP said: "This initiative is the result of strong demand from the ETF community. We believe i-Sec offers an efficient distribution and access network for ETFs for the first time and that this will help drive further growth in the sector."
According to Deutsche Bank, turnover in European ETFs increased by 88% in 2007, with assets under management increasing 22% in the same time period.
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