GENEVA, Aug. 3 -- PRNewswire/ AsiaNet
Synthesis Bank, the Swiss leader in online investment banking, has entered
into a marketing agreement with Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the largest
futures exchange in the United States with the broadest global distribution for
trading futures electronically. This makes the electronic trading platform,
Synthesis TradingFloor (www.tradingfloor.com), CME's only partner in
Switzerland.
In March 2005, Synthesis Bank launched the most complete and
least expensive high-performance trading platform in the market. In early
July 2005, Synthesis introduced Easy TradingFloor, offering private investors
(from CHF 2,000) a simplified version that is just as effective and
competitive.
With today's announcement, Synthesis Bank further increases
the visibility of its range of options and derivatives by offering its
customers the ability to trade CME interest rates, currencies and stock
indices (NASDAQ(R), S&P 500(R) and Russell(R)). These products can be traded
virtually 24 hours every trading day in real time. In addition, CME will be
working with Synthesis to offer educational seminars online and speaking
opportunities.
Synthesis Bank's CEO and majority shareholder, Charles-Henri Sabet says:
"We are proud of this agreement with America's principal futures exchange
because it proves two things: firstly, that we have won the trust of
the major international players and have gained credibility in the
international markets in just a few months, and secondly, that the volume of
transactions we generated with CME was important and convincing enough to
further build on our relationship."
CME's managing director for Europe and Asia, Arman Falsafi
adds: "This co-operation with Synthesis Bank is important for CME as we
continue to make our diversified products accessible via our electronic
trading platform to a growing number of clients around the world. As global
investment benchmarks, the CME's stock indices, Eurodollar and foreign
exchange products have long been strategic financial instruments allowing
companies and private investors to manage their risk and exposure."
Last year, as part of the exchange's European growth strategy,
CME launched six telecommunication hubs in key European financial centers
(Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, Gibraltar, Milan, Paris) following the opening
of the inaugural hub in London in January 2002. The hubs help improve access
and reduce connectivity costs for current and potential CME market users in
the region.
Average daily volume for CME was 4.4 million contracts for second-quarter
2005, a 33 percent increase from second-quarter 2004. Trading on the CME(R)
Globex(R) electronic trading platform grew 82 percent to 3.1 million contracts
per day in second-quarter 2005 from 1.7 million per day in second-quarter
2004. Electronic volume represented 71 percent of total CME volume in the
quarter, compared with 66 percent in first-quarter 2005 and 52 percent in
second-quarter 2004.
Contacts:
Synthesis Bank:
Pierre-Yves Revaz,
Head of Marketing & Communication,
tel. +41-22-317-95-00
www.tradingfloor.com
Chicago Mercantile Exchange:
Allan Schoenberg,
Associate Director,
tel. +1-312-930-8189
www.cme.com
Synthesis Bank
In 1991, Charles-Henri Sabet, then aged 30, founded Trading &
Commercial Consulting (TCC), a Geneva-based company specialising in forex,
options and interest rates. By 1999, TCC had grown into one of Europe's
leading trading firms, and the Swiss Federal Banking Commission granted it a
banking licence. The company changed its name to Synthesis Bank in 2000. In
2004, Synthesis launched a 24-hour online trading platform called
TradingFloor, where private and professional investors can trade all
financial products in the most competitive conditions: stocks, bonds,
options, futures, precious metals, spot and term currencies. Synthesis has
also become the specialist in CFDs (Contracts For Difference).
www.synthesisbank.com
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. became the first
publicly traded U.S. financial exchange on Dec. 6, 2002. The company was
added to the Russell 1000(R) Index on July 1, 2003. It is the parent company
of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com), the largest futures
exchange in the United States. As an international marketplace, CME brings
together buyers and sellers on its CME Globex electronic trading platform and
on its trading floors. CME offers futures and options on futures primarily in
interest rates, equities, foreign exchange and commodities. The exchange
moved about $1.6 billion per day in settlement payments in the first half of
2005 and managed $43.7 billion in collateral deposits at June 30, 2005,
including $4.0 billion in deposits for non-CME products. Further information
about CME and its products is available on the CME Web site.
www.cme.com
SOURCE: Synthesis Bank
CONTACT: Pierre-Yves Revaz,
Head of Marketing & Communication of Synthesis Bank,
+41-22-317-95-00;
Allan Schoenberg,
Associate Director of Chicago Mercantile Exchange,
+1-312-930-8189/
Web site: http://www.cme.com
http://www.tradingfloor.com /
--Distributed by AsiaNet (www.asianetnews.net)--