Neptune appoints major banks to new board
Major banks and asset managers have joined the board of “Neptune Networks” which will sponsor and run Neptune, the bond market initiative aimed at providing transparency and standardising data in the industry. The utility will continue to focus on new product classes and geographies, according to Grant Wilson, managing partner at ETrading Software, who has been appointed interim CEO of Neptune.

Bond market initiative Neptune has unveiled a new board comprising of major banks and asset managers, as it continues its mission to standardise data and create transparency across the industry.

Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and UBS are among the global institutions to have joined the newly established board.

The board is a part of a new company known as ‘Neptune Networks’, consisting of members who have played a part in the creation of the project.

Neptune Networks will sponsor and “run the utility”, according to the initiative.

Senior credit trader and vice president at Alliance Bernstein, Tim Morbelli, said the launch is another “step towards increasing transparency within the dealer community.”

Neptune was developed via the open FIX standard to minimise connectivity costs and create greater transparency of trading interests for all market participants.

Grant Wilson, managing partner at ETrading Software and veteran of Neptune has been named interim chief executive officer of Neptune.

Wilson told The Trade the initiative is on the hunt for a permanent CEO, and said: “A formal decision will be made at a later date.”

Neptune explained: “With governance including both banks and asset managers, the network will continue to focus on new product classes and geographies.

“This collaborative approach means that any further investment will only be made if it serves the market as a whole rather than the interests of the few or, indeed, a single vendor.”