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By Clara Denina
LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The London Bullion MarketAssociation (LBMA) said on Friday it has formally askedexchanges and technology firms to bid for services such as agold exchange or a clearing platform to make the London marketmore transparent and liquid.
"This is to investigate opportunities for greater markettransparency through, for example, trade reporting and alsoincreased trading efficiency via enhanced IT solutions," theLBMA said in a release.
Following 2014's shake-up of precious metals benchmarks, theLBMA commissioned consultancy EY to review the bullion marketwith a view to enhancing transparency and liquidity, whilereducing costs.
"The review came up with a number of potential solutions,"an LBMA spokesman said.
"We don't know what specific services each provider couldoffer, (but) we need to make sure the chosen solution isworkable for the whole market," the spokesman said, adding thatthe companies invited to bid would be the same as for thebenchmarks in 2014.
The group that the LBMA has set up to decide on the winningbid is made up of market makers including HSBC and JPMorgan and other banks involved in the bullion market aswell as other firms.
London's bullion benchmarks, or fixes, were overhauled lastyear as regulatory scrutiny made price-setting among a handfulof banks untenable.
Some 13 companies had participated in the bidding process torun the gold benchmark, which was won by U.S. derivatives bourseIntercontinental Exchange via a subsidiary. ICE declinedto comment on its intentions in the bidding process.
The London Metal Exchange secured the administration of theplatinum and palladium benchmarks and said it waslooking at launching precious metals derivatives.
The LME declined to comment.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, jointly withThomson Reuters, runs the daily silver price auction. Thomson Reuters declined to comment and no one at theCME was immediately available.
Technology provider Autilla, which also bid for thebenchmarks last year, said it is interested in submitting aproposal.
"If anybody is looking for solutions to provide moreliquidity to the market, a specialised tailor-made electronicplatform to trade bullion would be successful," said Autillachief executive Mike Greenacre.
Currently, more than $5 trillion a year of gold transactionsare made over the counter as opposed to a centralised exchange. (Reporting by Clara Denina, editing by Pratima Desai and AdrianCroft)
