Eurex, the derivatives exchange operated by Deutsche Borse, is to launch an incentive program designed to increase the volumes of proprietary and algorithmic trading done by its clients. Due to be launched on 1 February 2007, the program will include volume discounts for exchange-based transactions in key Eurex product groups.
The discounts offered will amount to 10, 20
or 30 percent, depending on the specific product group thresholds. For capital markets futures, for example, a discount of 10 percent will apply to volumes of between 0.4 million and 0.8 million contracts traded. This discount will increase to 20 percent for volumes of up to 2.4 million contracts, and to 30 percent for any volume in excess of this threshold.
With effect from 18 December 2006, Eurex will provide its clients with order book updates. In 2007, Eurex clients will be able to configure the delivery of the order book data they wish to receive, tailoring the service to suit their needs.
The launch of this program reflects the growing importance of algorithmic trading in the derivatives market. The optimisation of various software components, including the matcher and broadcasting modules, will allow Eurex to reduce system response times and boost the throughput of the system. Eurex expects to be able to process more than a billion quotes per day once the requisite hardware upgrades have been made.