The U.K. Debt Management Office (DMO) and the London Stock Exchange appointed Jefferies International as a Gilt-edged Market Maker (GEMM).
The appointment is in the wholesale sector of both conventional and index-linked gilts effective begining from the opening of business on Jan. 4, 2010. This brings the total number of primary dealer firms in the U.K. government bond market to sixteen, all of which are primary dealers in both conventional and index-linked gilts.
“We are very pleased to be appointed as a primary dealer in the U.K. Government Bond Market and see this designation as integral to our rates business, which is dedicated to serving clients globally,” commented Tim Cronin, global head of the fixed income division at Jefferies.
Jefferies was designated a U.S. primary dealer by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York in June of this year, and last month Jefferies was appointed as a primary dealer in Germany.
Most recently, David Owen joined as Jefferies chief European financial economist. Meanwhile, September saw Domenico Crapanzano joining Jefferies from Dresdner Kleinwort to lead the European rates business. He is based in London.
This announcement highlights Jefferies' focus on fixed income, where it now has over 400 professionals globally who are focused on the sales and trading of ABS and MBS, investment grade corporate bonds, high yield bonds, government and agency securities, repo finance, municipal bonds, whole loans, leveraged loans, distressed securities and emerging market debt.
