Bloomberg and Others Take the Lead in European Fixed Income Tape Plans

Major fixed income execution platforms Bloomberg, Tradeweb and MarketAxess have confirmed they will be collaborating on how to push through plans for a consolidated tape for fixed income in Europe. According to a story in The Trade news, the three entities have set out plans to apply to become the consolidated tape provider through the public procurement process organized by ESMA. As part of this process, Tradeweb, Bloomberg and MarketAxess are now preparing a competitive request for information process to begin reviewing independent third-party partners that have the potential to offer the consolidated tape service.  The consolidated tape service is expected to be provided – subject to the relevant regulatory approvals – via a joint-venture company established and operated independently from their respective businesses. If successful in winning the mandate, the company would be authorized and supervised by ESMA to provide transparency in fixed income markets pursuant to MiFID II.