Operated by Boerse Stuttgart, the off-exchange marketplace cats is one of the biggest bi-lateral trading platforms in the world. It’s facilitating end-users, market makers, issuers, brokers and asset managers with the trading and execution of retail structured products, cash equities, corporate bonds, government bonds and ETFs.
Good financial markets require fairness and a good gauge of fairness is transparency, thus for the direct trading platform cats the pre- and post-trade transparency is important. In 2017 the change in market regulation with MiFID II will formalise the transparency that we see as necessary tool of operation today. Anywhere, anytime, real-time, data on more than one million instruments is available on cats. On busy trading days the 24 market makers from 5 European centres create in excess of 4 billion instrument updates.
Continuous progress needs more than a vendor relationship, it requires a trusted advisor. Our relationship with VI Company is open, fair and honest—VI Company is our trusted advisor. Market regulation is becoming more intense; our joint values will ensure we succeed.
Chuffy Hunter, Head of cats, Boerse Stuttgart
Together with Boerse Stuttgart cats we explored the possibilities and a new way of disclosing this information. In just a matter of weeks we created the cats Market Data Platform, capable of displaying market maker quotes, client requests for quotes and trade information. The tool provides end-user first with live quotes and with a comprehensive picture of their trade in an enormity of market data.
Likewise market makers and retail brokers use this platform to explain and evidence pricing and transactions. A secure part of the site provides the counterparties, or market regulator, with a view of in-depth transaction data and an online visual display of the actual characteristics of the instrument quotes received in the market.
