LiquidityHub hires chief executive

Robert MacLeod has been made chief executive of London-based LiquidityHub, a venture that aims to electronically pool the fixed income liquidity of 11 investment banks.

MacLeod, who was formerly head of fixed income strategic investments at Morgan Stanley, has served on LiquidityHub’s executive since June. In his new role, he will be based in London and report directly to the board.

LiquidityHub was formed in July, after banks’ negotiations with Bloomberg for a similar idea broke down. The New York-based data provider had intended to spin off its SwapTrader platform and give banks equity in a trading system combining their liquidity.

LiquidityHub said it does not intend to become a trading platform itself, but will distribute its liquidity in interest rate swaps and US government bonds elsewhere. It is currently in “active dialogue” with electronic execution platforms and market data distributors, and anticipates a launch in mid-2007.