Barclays Capital Launches Compactions Manager on BARX Fixed Income

Electronic portfolio compression tool is the first-of- its- kind available to clients over the internet

NEW YORK (August 9, 2010) – Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC, today announced the launch of Compactions Manager, an electronic swap portfolio compression tool made available to clients over the internet.

Compactions Manager, available exclusively on BARX Fixed Income, allows clients to collapse interest rate swap portfolios, including both assignments and unwinds, with more ease and efficiency. This groundbreaking development on BARX, the firm’s award-winning electronic trading platform, gives clients superior control over the management of their derivatives portfolios.

Barclays Capital also announced the addition of Closing Price Orders to BARX Fixed Income. This new tool available to eligible clients is an order manager for trades executed at close, typically index rebalancing transactions, allowing easy execution of baskets of trades of fixed income securities at the day’s closing price.

Both the Compactions Manager and Closing Price Orders are now live and being used by BARX Fixed Income clients.

“These enhancements to BARX Fixed Income demonstrate Barclays Capital’s continued commitment to developing innovative electronic trading services,” said Harry Harrison, Head of Rates Trading at Barclays Capital. “As a global leader in fixed income, we are dedicated to providing clients with the solutions they need to trade and manage risk as effectively and efficiently as possible. The Compactions Manager in particular will be extremely valuable to clients as the industry moves to central counterparty clearing for OTC derivatives. ”

“The addition of Compactions Manager and Closing Price Orders to BARX Fixed Income gives clients more control and flexibility in managing their portfolios online than ever before,” said Andrew Challis, Head of Global Rates E-Distribution at Barclays Capital. “These offerings are powerful complements to our existing suite of online Fixed Income tools.”

The firm’s diverse and innovative Fixed Income e-trading offering includes:

• BARX Fixed Income: Barclays Capital’s online electronic trading platform for fixed income securities and derivatives. BARX Fixed Income is fully integrated into Barclays Capital Live, our web-based client portal, and other asset class trading platforms such as BARX FX.
• FIX API trading: Barclays Capital’s demonstrated leadership in autoquoting also provides a FIX feed for order-based trading of US treasuries providing model-based traders with a robust executable treasury price stream.
• POINT: Barclays Capital’s POINT platform leverages Barclays Capital research and technology to offer advanced multi-asset portfolio construction, risk forecasting and performance attribution and scenario analysis.

BARX is now in its tenth year of trading for clients. These latest offerings on BARX Fixed Income join a series of firsts that the firm has accomplished in the electronic fixed income space in that time. Barclays Capital was the first to offer electronic Euro, GBP and USD swaps on BARX via Bloomberg in 2003 (USD was 2004), and the first dealer to successfully execute a Tradweb plus Euro IRS trade with a client on BARX via Tradeweb in February 2010.

About BARX

BARX, Barclays Capital’s award-winning multi-asset class online trading platform, combines exceptional liquidity with innovative trading tools and dedicated service. As a seamless ecommerce solution, BARX sets the standard for execution efficiency and service. BARX offers access to liquidity through innovative proprietary platforms and via several ECNs in the following asset classes: Commodities, Fixed Income, Emerging Markets, Money Markets, Foreign Exchange, Structured Products, Equities and Futures & Options. BARX also provides FIX and DMA connectivity and STP. For more information, please visit www.barx.com.

About Barclays Capital

Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC. With a distinctive business model, Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients with a full spectrum of solutions to their strategic advisory, financing and risk management needs. Barclays Capital has offices around the world, employs over 23,000 people and has the global reach, advisory services and distribution power to meet the needs of issuers and investors worldwide.

For further information about Barclays Capital, please visit our website www.barclayscapital.com.