CME Group's BrokerTec is advancing the transformation of cash and repo markets in 2025 through key initiatives. The firm has launched BrokerTec Chicago, its second central limit order book (CLOB) for the Treasury market, and it continues to enhance BrokerTec Quote with new functionality and the integration with its US and EU repo CLOB via the Global Front End (GFE).
With strong volumes and a focus on uniting futures, cash, and repo markets, John Edwards, global head of BrokerTec, CME Group, says the firm 鈥渞emains at the forefront of market execution鈥� and is 鈥減oised for continued growth and efficiency improvements, backed by a strong client pipeline鈥�.
BrokerTec Chicago
In an 鈥渋ndustry first鈥�, CME Group launched BrokerTec Chicago on 6 October 2024, a distinct new US Treasury CLOB built specifically for cash versus futures spread trading.
Located in Chicago, next to CME Group's US Treasury futures and options markets, it facilitates trading between these two markets. It also looks to complement BrokerTec's existing New York-based CLOB for US Treasuries and repo, which will continue to be the primary venue for price discovery and larger risk-transfer trades.
Edwards explores: 鈥淚n the past, clients trading the spread between cash and futures have had to manage the legging risk of using relative value strategies between New York and Chicago markets. BrokerTec Chicago solves this problem, greatly enhancing the client experience and simplifying workflows.鈥�
The platform allows for smaller notional sizes and tighter price increments, aligning with Treasury futures. This enables smaller firms to participate in spread trading, which, according to Edwards, broadens and deepens the liquidity pool, increasing matching opportunities, and delivers more deterministic trade execution.
CME Group has launched BrokerTec Chicago 鈥渁t a time when liquidity in Treasury futures has grown relative to the cash market鈥�, notes Edwards, creating increased client demand for relative-value trading strategies. In a strong sign of client interest in the new marketplace, CME Group announced in September that Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley were available to trade cash US Treasuries on the first day of the launch.
At the time, Mike Dennis, CME Group global head of fixed income, said: 鈥淲ith leading financial firms having joined from day one on BrokerTec Chicago, trading US Treasury futures and cash will be more efficient than ever before.
鈥淐ME Group is in a unique position to bring these markets together, unlocking value for our clients worldwide who want to more precisely hedge their risk amid record debt issuance and ongoing economic uncertainty.鈥�
Key features and capabilities:
鈥� Co-location. BrokerTec Chicago is located in the Chicago data centre, alongside CME Group's futures and options markets. This co-location is intended to reduce slippage and create a more deterministic trading experience, enhancing certainty of execution when trading cash versus futures.
鈥⒙燭rading instruments. At launch, the platform will offer trading for all seven of BrokerTec's on-the-run benchmark US Treasuries.
鈥� Trade sizes and pricing. To better align with the futures market, BrokerTec Chicago will support smaller notional sizes and tighter price increments.
鈥� The minimum trade size for the two-year and three-year US Treasury notes is US$200,000, while the five-year-plus contracts have a minimum of US$100,000.
鈥� The platform will offer tighter price increments of 1/16th of a 32nd across the curve, which is believed to increase matching opportunities and encourage more counterparties to trade.
鈥⒙燙onnectivity. Clients will be able to use their existing connectivity to Globex, including the BrokerTec API, to access the new CLOB.
2025 volumes
BrokerTec has seen strong performance across its core product areas in 2025. In the first quarter of this year, it set a new single-day average daily volume (ADV) record of over US$1.05 trillion across its platforms. In August alone, ADV reached US$915 billion, a 20 per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase across benchmark cash US Treasuries, European government bonds, and US and EU repo.
Repo volumes remained robust in 2025, explains Edwards, with the firm achieving multiple records, including its highest single-day ADV in repo, as well as single-day volume records for US repo and BrokerTec Quote, driven by continued market sentiment and the availability of cash and collateral.
Advancing repo markets through innovation
A significant innovation for Sara Carter, global head of repo at BrokerTec, CME Group, is the integration of the BrokerTec Quote request-for-quote (RFQ) platform with the US and EU repo CLOB, facilitated by the GFE. 鈥淭he connectivity between the two platforms offers clients enhanced opportunities for data analytics and provides the sell side, who are active in the wholesale-cleared market, with efficient, transparent pricing and core liquidity for incoming RFQs,鈥� she adds.
This new connectivity makes it 鈥渕ore intuitive鈥� for the sell side to be able to trade and manage orders between the two different market segments, Carter interjects. She adds: 鈥淎s a result, the buy side will achieve faster price discovery for best execution. As part of this new connectivity, BrokerTec requires sell side clients to upgrade to the company鈥檚 back-end trading system (BETS).鈥�
This will allow BrokerTec to bring additional features and functionalities to the CLOB, and help to deploy them more quickly. It will also provide an additional level of security. The upgrade is鈥� currently being rolled out in the US, and will soon be enabled for European accounts.
Another key feature of the BrokerTec GFE includes the ability for clients to upload positions at the 07:00 US open, attracting new users and larger positions. In addition, clients will also be able to clearly evaluate and adjust orders individually and in bulk, optimise their executions and maximise their returns.
BrokerTec has enhanced the US repo CLOB, allowing traders to fairly earn a priority at the top of the stack after the workup session when actively matching and executing trades. This innovation adapts a previous voice protocol, further optimising liquidity and promoting a more efficient, orderly market.
BrokerTec continues to enhance its core EU repo and European government bond CLOB in Europe. In October, a new 鈥榖uy-in-bulk鈥� window will go live, allowing traders to buy bonds that meet specific criteria 鈥榠n bulk鈥� at a user-defined rate and total size. The enhancement has been rolled out to German, French, UK, Spanish, and Belgian repo markets, with others to follow in due course.
BrokerTec Quote continues its expansion on the RFQ side, launching new products like corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities, alongside new functionality. This includes grid view access for a condensed market view, and user trading and 鈥榝at finger鈥� limits for added protection.
New order types such as 鈥極ne Cancels Other鈥� (OCO) and 鈥楢ll or Nothing鈥� (AON) have also been introduced. Simultaneously, BrokerTec is adding new markets, completing legal assessments in each jurisdiction to provide clients with confidence regarding adherence to local rules and regulations.
Concluding, Edwards says: 鈥淏rokerTec actively supports the evolving repo and securities financing markets, partnering with clients to develop enhanced trading tools and modalities for their businesses.鈥�
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Sunil Daswani
Image: John Edwards and Sara Carter 