[ N E W S R E V I E W | F I X E D I N C O M E ]
Following years of discussions and developments for a UK fixed income consolidated tape, the time has finally come for the initiative to shift from dream to reality.
Effective from 22 June 2026, UK bond markets will leverage a consolidated tape which collates trades executed on trading venues as well as over-the-counter( OTC) trades, operated by Etrading Software via its dedicated tape subsidiary, ETS Connect.
The tape’ s implementation is expected to provide the market with greater transparency and liquidity, however the road to delivery has not been without its hurdles.
Recent years have been peppered with stagnation due to regulation and fixed income-related challenges such as the OTC nature of the market, as well as a suspension on the tape contract and legal challenge.
Speaking to The TRADE, Sassan Danesh, chief executive of Etrading Software, explained the trigger to set the tape delivery into motion, stating:“ What finally moved the needle in the UK was the FCA’ s willingness to act decisively.
“ The Wholesale Markets Review gave regulators the mandate they needed, and HM Treasury’ s direction to the FCA to establish a consolidated tape for bonds provided the legislative clarity that cut through years of industry deadlock.”
Bringing the tape to fruition has clearly been a long time in the making, raising the question: what comes next, and who in the market will benefit most?
A risky business? Discourse around the upcoming implementation of the tape has
A closer look at the UK fixed income consolidated tape:
Concept becoming reality
After the UK consolidated tape for bonds went live on 22 June- spanning 98 % of contributor coverage at launch- NATASHA COCKSEDGE catches up with Sassan Danesh, Etrading Software chief executive, to lift the lid on the implementation plan, and unpack both the challenges and opportunities of the initiative set to transform the UK bond market.
been aplenty across the industry, with many industry panels and conference discussions unpacking where the greatest benefits will lie, and what concerns market participants are voicing.
As Danesh emphasises, many firms that were initially sceptical during consultation phase have now moved into implementation and tape integration, indicating a clear shift across the industry.
However, concerns still remain, most notably around data normalisation.
Specifically, these issues centre on the obstacles such as condensing the wide variety of fixed income instrument structures, count conventions, settlement cy- cles and reference data identifiers into a consistent format, which as Danesh explains“ is genuinely hard.”
To address this, Etrading Software has confirmed that significant investment has been made into reference data infrastructure, to satisfy demand since“ firms want confidence that what they see on the tape is not just volumetrically complete but semantically accurate,” according to Danesh.
Similarly, access models also surface as areas of interest, as larger firms with existing data infrastructure are more focused on API integration, latency specifications and how the tape feeds
12 // TheTRADE // Q2 2026