A two-front war

The major interdealer brokers continue to face stiff competition from each other, but are also starting to see increased participation in the over-the-counter market from the exchanges. At the same time, the shift towards electronic trading is starting to pick up pace. By Wietske Blees, with research by Xiao-Long Chen

Brokers have been fighting a battle on two fronts this year, competing not only with each other but also with exchanges, which are slowly expanding their reach into the over-the-counter derivatives market. Several exchanges have launched credit derivatives contracts in recent months - the fastest-growing product in the OTC market - while a handful have established clearing and settlement services for OTC instruments.

But despite signs that the exchanges are slowly encroaching into the OTC market