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of the market." The challenge marks a delay in the process, and in response to the appeal, the FCA reiterated that it“ undertook a fair, competitive two stage process to ensure the provider could deliver a highquality tape and the best value for money”.
For Sassan Danesh, chief executive of Etrading Software, the challenge undermines efforts to make UK markets more competitive. Speaking on this, he said:“ We strongly advocate that the suspension be lifted urgently to stop the UK falling behind global peers in wholesale market data infrastructure.”
Although this may slow the UK tape operations, it still appears that once authorised, the selected providers will take on a fiveyear tenure to deliver the tape services. Yet, industry discussion is also turning towards what these ventures will mean and how the future will pan out for the fixed income market. In the US, the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine( TRACE) has been operational since 2002 and brought a notable increase in transparency and improved reporting for North American fixed income market participants.
This offers a relevant precedent, however, industry sentiment over the past few years has consistently highlighted how a similar system would not be feasible in Europe. This disparity is often put down to differences between the two regions, including European fragmented markets, a variety of currencies and delayed trade data.
A whole new world Despite possible hurdles to adoption the importance of having a tape has not diminished. While discourse around the prospect increases as reality ticks closer, two key factors are consistently highlighted – the impact it will have on data transparency and its quality.
Due to the primarily over-
“ We want to make sure that we earn a reasonable return for our capital providers. But over and above that we want to make sure that everyone in the industry shares the success of the tape rather than it being for us alone to take advantage of.”
CHRIS MURPHY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND CO-FOUNDER OF EDIPHY
52 // TheTRADE // Q3 2025