MOT, Euronext Access Milan and Bond-X
Borsa Italiana allows investors to trade fixed income products on three markets: MOT, Euronext Access Milan and EuroTLX Bond-X.
MOT is the only Italian regulated market and it is the European leader in terms of turnover and trades. MOT was launched in 1994 with a view to facilitating access to the bond market for private investors and enhancing the efficiency of professional investor operations by offering them an electronic and completely automated trading system, right from the order entry phase up to the settlement of the executed trade.
ExtraMOT is an MTF launched in 2009 to permit investors to trade bonds already listed in other EU markets. In 2013 and in 2019, it was enriched by professional segments ExtraMOT PRO and ExtraMOT PRO3 dedicated to the listing of Italian corporate bonds, commercial papers, asset backed securities, project&infra bonds and SMEs bonds. From 2023, in conjunction with the migration to the Euronext Group's trading platforms, it was renamed Euronext Access Milan.
EuroTLX Bond-X is the segment for fixed income products of EuroTLX market, acquired by Borsa Italiana in 2013.
All the three markets have a segment dedicated to green, social and sustainable bonds providing investors information to enable them to identify, analysis and incorporate climate and sustainability considerations into their investment process.
Segmentation and product types
MOT is dedicated, via its two segments DomesticMOT and EuroMOT, to the trading of Italian and EU government securities, domestic and international bank and corporate bonds, supranational securities and asset-backed securities for retail investors. The instruments could be listed upon request from the issuer. In case of EU government bonds and supranational securities the request could be done by an intermediary or the instruments could be admitted to trading from the Exchange.
Euronext Access Milan is the professional market dedicated to ABS, commercial papers, infrastructure bonds, corporate bonds issued also by Italian private SMEs, including debt instruments with participation features. Debt instruments are admitted to listing upon request of the issuer or a Listing Sponsor appointed by the issuer. The market was created to offer issuers a flexible and cost-effective domestic platform through which they can take advantage of the opportunities and benefits of listing on a MTF market (e.g. tax benefits, EBC eligibility). Trading is strictly for professional investors. Moreover, for SMEs, Euronext Access Milan is the ideal stage to gain visibility among potential investors thanks to its internationally recognised brand and the extensive network of national and international intermediaries through which it is connected.
MOT is also the market where for the first time the Italian Government has directly sold the BTP Italia in 2012 and BTP Futura in 2020. After the great success of the BTP Italia placements, Borsa Italiana has provided corporate issuers with the opportunity to distribute their instruments directly on our platform. The distribution channel offers investors the possibility to buy the securities, exploiting the efficiency of trading platform, directly on the market and for the issuers, it offers the opportunity to avoid the uncertainty about the outcome of the offer and issue only the total amount requested. This feature is available also for Euronext Access Milan market. In fact, as part of the admission process, the issuer may use the MOT and Euronext Access Milan markets for the distribution of the bonds. Borsa Italiana, having verified that the issuer and the financial instruments satisfy the admission requirements, will admit the financial instrument and start sales of purchase and sale trades on the markets. At the end of the sale phase, if it is has been successful, and subject to compliance with the requirements laid down in the Rules of Borsa Italiana, the admission will be finalised and Borsa Italiana will establish the date for the start of trading. If the bond issue does not take place because the admission requirements laid down in the Rules of Borsa Italiana are not satisfied, the admission decision shall cease to be effective and the trades concluded will be invalidated. The procedures for distribution via the market will be established each time by Borsa Italiana through a notice. To this end, the issuer shall inform Borsa Italiana of the name of the intermediary appointed for the sale of the bonds that are to be issued, if it does not intend to perform this task itself. The issuer shall also inform Borsa Italiana of the dates on which the distribution is to take place, the price, the day on which the company will decide whether to proceed with the issue, and the single date set for the settlement of the trades concluded, which normally coincides with the date set for the issue and payment of the bonds.
EuroTLX Bond-X is dedicated to the admission to trading of corporate and financial instruments at the request of a market maker or to the admission to listing of non-Eurobond and equivalent bank bonds at the request of a specialist. Basically it is a market for issuances for which the applicant commits to the corresponding quotation obligations in the secondary market based on the type of security and/or the related risk profile.
Microstructure
In order to guarantee liquidity and transparency in the price formation process for the bonds traded, MOT and Euronext Access Milan have been set up as order driven market models with the optional presence of Specialist intermediaries. EuroTLX Bond-X has been set up as a market with the mandatory presence of market maker or specialist intermediaries. The specialist acts mandatorily in order to guarantee the liquidity of the listed products. Borsa Italiana defines the minimum quotation obligations and monitors their compliance. Specialists have to comply with minimum time presence on the book, minimum quantity and for MOT also maximum bid&ask spread. Specialists can quote in bid-only.
The settlement of trades on the various instruments takes place via the Euronext Securities Milan settlement system in Euros or via Euroclear and Clearstream Banking Luxembourg in the currency in which the financial instruments are expressed.
MOT and Euronext Access Milan provide also with the possibility of taking advantages of these two services:
- Distribution channel - after the great success of the BTP Italia placements, Borsa Italiana has provided corporate issuers with the opportunity to distribute their instruments directly on our platform. The innovative process starts with a distribution period in which conditional trades will be concluded. Once this period will be finished and the issuer and the financial instruments admission requirements will be satisfied, the admission will become final and the date for the start of trading will be established.
- Takeover Bid: Borsa Italiana has provided with the possibility to collect acceptances in the market in the case of an offer to buy back debt financial instruments.
Finally, for the instruments in Euros or US Dollar the Central Counterparty system service is provided, except for the instruments listed on the Euronext Access Milan Professional Segment or for non-Eurobond and equivalent banking bonds on EuroTLX Bond-X.