By Jennifer Saba
Oct 7 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorganChase & Co and six other banks have agreed to join a newinstant messaging network from Markit and Thomson Reuters Corp to connect disparate messaging systems.
The network, called Markit Collaboration Services, will belaunched on Monday and allows members to chat with one anotherregardless of the proprietary messaging technology that eachfirm uses.
This open platform contrasts with Bloomberg LP's messagingsystem, which is a closed network only for users of Bloombergterminals.
Bloomberg messaging is the most popular form of chat on WallStreet, and often cited as one of the reasons banks are willingto pay around $20,000 a year for a subscription to a Bloombergterminal.
Markit and Thomson Reuters said they hoped their openmessaging network will attract banks that want to chat withtheir clients or other financial institutions but cannotcurrently do so because they are on different messaging systems.
The other banks that have joined the new network areDeutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch,Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse andMorgan Stanley, according to a statement from Markit.
The banks collectively employ more than 1 million peopleworldwide, though it was not immediately clear how manyindividuals will use the new Markit service.
David Craig, president of Thomson Reuters' Financial & Riskdivision, said one of the challenges facing banks is that theirmessaging systems do not always talk to one another. "Thatcreates costs and complexity," he said.
Markit and Thomson Reuters said the messages on the newnetwork are encrypted, and the system does not store them.
Representatives from Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, GoldmanSachs and Morgan Stanley were not immediately available tocomment on the new messaging system. Representatives fromBarclays, Citi, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan also declined tocomment.