Citi makes minority funding in e-trading bond platform supplier Cicada Applied sciences

Citi has made a strategic minority funding in Greenwich-based fintech, Cicada Applied sciences (CT), to facilitate institutional e-trading of Mexican authorities bonds.

Citi’s Markets Strategic Investments unit dealt with the funding, with Citi set to behave as a liquidity supplier for the buying and selling platform. Citi joins present traders Kaszek Ventures, Dila Capital and BCP Securities.

With further presence in Mexico, Cicada has constructed an all-to-all digital various buying and selling system (ATS) permitting institutional buy- and sell-side contributors to commerce Mexican authorities fastened revenue securities with out the necessity of a pre-existing buying and selling relationship.

The ATS is registered with the SEC and the broker-dealer actions of Cicada Securities – a subsidiary of CT – are regulated by FINRA.

Cicada allows the e-trading of 28 Mexican authorities bonds, together with: nominal fixed-rate notes (Mbonos) and inflation-linked securities (UDIBonos) which might be settled at Indeval, Euroclear or Clearstream.

Going ahead, the corporate plans to allow the buying and selling of Cetes (Mexican T-bills), TIIE (Mexican rate of interest swaps), Mexican company bonds and different rising markets authorities securities.

With an estimated 85% of native bonds traded by voice and OTC through conventional non-electronic brokers, Cicada goals to allow expertise adoption amongst market contributors emigrate these volumes to e-trading.

“As a number one liquidity supplier within the Mexican authorities bond market, our participation in Cicada’s platform displays our ambition to be on the forefront of digital buying and selling,” mentioned Jose Luis Yepez, head of native markets charges buying and selling at Citi.

Cicada plans to hurry the adoption of e-trading through a central restrict order e book (CLOB) and request for quotes (RFQ) protocols.

The platform additionally offers automation instruments for buy-side and liquidity suppliers, execution of trades, connectivity to post-trade providers and information evaluation of stay and historic bond costs.

“Merchants are embracing expertise shortly, and at present 15 well-known establishments are lively on the platform and 10 are within the means of becoming a member of,” mentioned Ignacio Tovar, co-founder of Cicada.