(Bloomberg) -- The London Bullion Market Association has started negotiations with two financial technology firms to create a trading platform for precious metals, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The partnership between Autilla Ltd. and Boat Services Ltd. was selected for further talks, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
“It would be premature to comment at this stage as no legal agreements have been signed with any provider,” Ruth Crowell, chief executive officer of the LBMA, said in an e-mail to Bloomberg News.
The LBMA, which represents London's gold market, is seeking to modernize the world's largest gold-trading hub, an over-the-counter system that clears more than $5 trillion a year. Regulators are pushing for more transparency and tighter controls. In other cities, such as New York, transactions take place on an exchange.
To read more London's major gold market overhaul, click here
The LBMA's platform would mean deals between two parties can be posted and stored in a database, and eventually lead to the publication of a forward price curve.
Companies including the London Metal Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and CME Group Inc. submitted proposals for the platform, people familiar with the matter said in February.
Autilla, started in 2013, specializes in developing trading tools for commodity markets. Boat Services, owned by Cinnober Financial Technology AB, provides market surveillance and data services.
The LBMA is one of two groups in London working to update gold trading. The other group, which includes the LME, World Gold Council and several banks, said in August that it will introduce centrally cleared gold and silver contracts in the first half of next year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eddie van der Walt in London at evanderwalt@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Ana Monteiro
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
