FairCT has won the EU bond consolidated tape tender.
The company has been invited to apply for authorisation. Once authorised, it will operate the tape for five years under direct supervision from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
Natasha Cazenave, ESMA executive director, commented, “With today’s decision, we are taking a decisive step towards setting up consolidated tapes in the EU. This step constitutes a key contribution to building the Savings and Investment Union (SIU) and to the further development of capital markets in Europe.”
FairCT was launched by Ediphy, in collaboration with industry bodies including Cboe Global Markets, FactSet, Google Cloud, Norges Bank Investment Management, TP ICAP and UBS.
On the announcement, Victoria Webster, managing director for fixed income at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), added, “The EU bond consolidated tape will serve as a critical tool in enhancing and democratising access to post-trade information in the European bond markets. By consolidating trade data from multiple sources, the tape will provide market participants and investors with a comprehensive view of bond transactions, irrespective of their resources and level of sophistication, thereby improving price formation and discovery as well as market integrity.”
AFME voiced its support for fairCT initiating the implementation “as soon as possible”.
Ediphy’s co-founder and CEO Chris Murphy told Global Trading, “We are thrilled to be selected by ESMA as the first consolidated tape provider for bonds through our fairCT initiative.
“This milestone reflects Ediphy’s commitment to enhancing transparency and efficiency in EU bond markets, aligning with the goals of the Savings and Investment Union. In collaboration with the market, fairCT will deliver a comprehensive view of bond transactions, empowering market participants with better price discovery and fostering market integrity. We are preparing for the authorisation process under ESMA’s supervision and look forward to implementing the tape as swiftly as possible. For further details, we’ll share updates as we progress.”
Competitor TransFICC declined to comment, while Bondtape’s Neil Ryan told The DESK, “well done to Ediphy, Chris and the team and we fully support the bond consolidated tape initiative and its successful implementation in 2026.”
Sassan Danesh, CEO of Etrading Software, added, “
“We congratulate Ediphy for winning the EU bond tender and wish them the best in their important task of setting up the CT.
We are now focused on the UK tape tender to be announced in September, followed by the EU derivates tender which we anticipate will start in Jan 2026.”
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