FCA approves ETS Connect as UK bond consolidated tape provider

The Financial Conduct Authority has authorized ETS Connect to operate as a consolidated tape provider for the UK bond market. The firm may collect, consolidate and publish post-trade data for UK fixed-income instruments.

Under the authorization, ETS Connect can publish trade prices, volumes and timestamps where available. The consolidated tape will combine transaction data from multiple trading venues and reporting entities into a single continuous feed to give market participants a unified view of trading activity.

ETS Connect must meet FCA requirements for data quality, governance and operational resilience. The firm will need to connect to trading venues, systematic internalisers and other reporting sources to secure broad coverage of UK bond transactions before the tape scales.

Asset managers, brokers and compliance teams are expected to be primary users of the feed. Firms can use the data for trade surveillance, best execution checks, price discovery and market analysis. Publication will be in real time or near real time depending on the timeliness of incoming reports and technical arrangements with contributors.

UK and European regulators have encouraged the development of consolidated tapes to reduce the cost and complexity of obtaining post-trade market data. A consolidated tape aggregates trade and sometimes quote information from multiple venues and reporting bodies. The FCA’s authorization process evaluates systems, governance, market connections and the accuracy and timeliness of data publication.