Sefs stall, but more liquidity may be coming

The hoped-for competition among Sefs never was. But banks and prop traders might be facing off on swaps

After the 2008 meltdown, a stalwart effort was made to multiply the number of platforms on which swaps could be traded. The hope was to give investors an array of venues to trade on and create a competitive skirmish that would drive prices lower.

That hope has come to naught, a fact brought home by the closing of the trueEX swap-execution facility (Sef) last month. But competition might catch fire in another form: between banks and proprietary trading firms (PTFs) on Sefs.

In June, the