Citadel Securities has joined Tradeweb’s electronic platform for trading US Treasuries as a liquidity provider, in its latest move to bolster its electronic market-making capabilities.
By joining Tradeweb’s platform, it gains access to more than 1,000 institutional traders for US Treasuries.
The move from Citadel Securities signals a clear focus to target electronic fixed income trading. Earlier this year Paul Hamill, global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) for Citadel Securities, told Bloomberg News that it was targeting off-the-run Treasuries as its next big push.
“Joining the Tradeweb Treasury platform is a natural strategic development for our business. We continue to expand our fixed income client franchise, most recently adding off-the-run Treasuries, and remain committed to providing our clients with excellent service and fully firm liquidity across the curve,” said Hamill.
Citadel Securities has made several hirings to boost its electronic fixed income capabilities. It hired Nicola White, Morgan Stanley’s former head of electronic fixed income markets, as global COO of FICC. It then brought on Michael de Pass, a former trader at Bank of America, to head Treasuries trading.
With Citadel Securities joining the Tradeweb platform, it signals a greater shift in non-bank market-makers moving in on the territory of banks, which have gradually withdrawn from the space as fixed income markets increasingly adopt electronic execution.
“As market participants like Citadel Securities continue to leverage electronic markets in new and different ways, we look forward to driving innovation that supports more efficient and effective fixed income and derivatives trading,” said Billy Hult, president, Tradeweb Markets.
Citadel Securities has been an early player in the electronic fixed income market. Regulations such as Dodd-Frank has opened up the interest rate swaps market to new participants by forcing trading onto platforms known as swap execution facilities (SEFs).
According to a recent report from Greenwich Associates, the number of investors trading fixed income electronically has grown year-on-year, with 46% now stating they trade at least some of their volume electronically.