SIX Swiss Exchange and SmartPool intend to deliver Swiss Block, the non-displayed liquidity service for Swiss blue-chip equities.
Swiss Block, formerly powered by Nyfix Euro Millennium, is owned and operated by SIX Swiss Exchange.
Following the recent acquisition of Nyfix by NYSE Euronext, subject to contract the service will now be powered by SmartPool, the European dark liquidity pool created by NYSE Euronext in partnership with HSBC, J.P. Morgan and BNP Paribas.
Complementing the existing public limit order book service operated by SIX Swiss Exchange, Swiss Block provides an infinite pool of liquidity, matching buyers and sellers in a non-displayed environment.
Supervised by Finma, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, Swiss Block provides international market participants and investors with a number of important benefits, helping them to get wholesale business executed, with minimal market impact at improved prices. Executions are anonymous and cleared through SIX Swiss Exchange’s open clearing and settlement infrastructure.
It is expected that the transition from the current Nyfix powered solution to the SmartPool service will be completed by 14 December 2009, subject to customer readiness.
Christian Katz (pictured), chief executive of SIX Swiss Exchange, says: “We are pleased to be working with SmartPool as a successor to Nyfix. SmartPool brings with it significant expertise and an international client base. The partnership is a continuation of our strategy to deliver competitive services to our customers. Having recently announced a new, highly competitive tariff structure and the launch of our innovative and technologically advanced new platform, this deal adds another leg to our offering as a leading international trading venue."
Lee Hodgkinson, chief executive of SmartPool, adds: “By combining SIX Swiss Exchange’s own members with Smartpool’s growing community of users, today’s announcement is further proof that our superior economies of scale and market leading technology is attracting the largest and most diverse dark pool trading community in Europe. As the significance of dark trading in Europe continues to grow, we look forward to partnering with SIX Swiss Exchange to build the ultimate dark pool of liquidity in Swiss blue-chip equities.”
