ArcaEx, the electronic exchange of Archipelago, will run New York Stock Exchange‘s bond trading operation, which is being migrated to its platform this quarter. The two exchanges, which are close to completing their merger, previously planned to run the businesses separately (WSL, 10/17). NYSE had hired John Holman, v.p. of fixed income, at the helm of its revamped effort. NYSE’s bond trading platform runs on older technology than Archipelago’s, so a combined, newer platform made more sense than running two parallel platforms, executives at both companies said. A lengthy cover story in last Friday’s Wall Street Journal disclosed the NYSE’s intention to step up its bond trading markedly in the wake of the merger effort.
The new platform will retain NYSE’s name. NYSE lists about 1,000 bonds. The list will be expanded to include all exchange-listed bonds as the year goes on, said Jenny Drake, managing director at Archipelago. Over 75,000 bonds are listed on U.S. exchanges overall. Traders will not have to install any additional technology to trade the bonds, as the new bond trading platform is an extension of Arca’s platform for trading equities.