he Rule Book, which all institutions which use Thomson Reuters Matching will be expected to observe, sets out a combination of platform controls and behavioural rules to encourage activity which will sustain primary markets. These changes are targeted to safeguard genuine trading interest, to maintain high certainty of execution and to provide an orderly trading experience for all market participants. The changes follow a year-long consultation with market participants, culminating in the production of a draft document in March this year.

The Rule Book outlines guidelines for fill ratios, minimum quote lives, and tick sizes that are intended to optimize the liquidity available to market participants while ensuring the right balance between tight spreads and stable prices. A pilot project will also be implemented in early 2015 to introduce randomization of order processing in a selected currency pair.

The Rule Book also aims to reduce the use of trading techniques that may lead to violations of Market Conduct Rules. The implementation program incorporates a proactive, transparent and consistent approach to surveillance and reporting of client trading activity and enforcement. It also codifies best practice for dealing with clearly erroneous trades.

“We have a responsibility to our clients to promote trading behaviors and practices on our Matching platform that comply with Market Conduct rules,” said Phil Weisberg, global head of FX, Thomson Reuters. “The rules are based on rigorous observation and analysis of trading behavior on the platform and were discussed with clients during a consultation process that we initiated more than one year ago.”

With over 1,100 subscriber organizations, Thomson Reuters Matching is the leading anonymous electronic trade matching system for the professional community, offering unbiased access to real time executable prices on more than 80 currency pairs.