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Banks take Wholesale Financial Markets Online with AusMarkets.com A consortium of Australia's banks have announced their intention to form an electronic portal for the online distribution of wholesale financial products and services. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corporation will establish an independent company which will operate and manage the multi-contributor, multi-product platform to be known as AusMarkets.com. AusMarkets.com will provide large institutional and corporate clients with a single access point for transacting wholesale financial market products offered by each participant. AusMarkets.com will also deliver information and risk management content such as research, news, rates and portfolio analytics. This one access point will reach across a broad range of wholesale financial products within financial markets. While the initial shareholders will be the four major Australian banks, it is intended to be an open and inclusive platform for other market participants. The range of products and services initially offered will be introduced in 2001. The initial focus of product delivery will be on money market and debt securities. This will be followed by a full suite of interest rate derivatives and foreign exchange products. The establishment of AusMarkets.com is in recognition of client feedback and research that confirms that some client segments are seeking a multi-contributor or aggregated portal in which to transact and manage their treasury operations. By having a critical mass of financial institutions represented, clients are afforded an efficient price comparison and information platform which is better suited to meet their online information and transaction needs. The initial focus of AusMarkets.com will be the Australian marketplace, although it is also intended to offer this platform to clients and market participants outside Australia shortly thereafter. While each participating bank has its own e-commerce strategic initiatives, the establishment of AusMarkets.com is targeted at those clients with multiple banking relationships that are seeking to access their entire financial markets product range through one central trading platform. The portal provides a more efficient delivery channel of products and services than those offered by single product/participant sites. Importantly, it also offers a deep source of liquidity to clients through the participation of the major trading banks and a heightened level of price transparency. Preliminary discussions have been held with various regulatory bodies.
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