Bloomberg made an announcement today regarding the adoption of its Trade Order Management System (TOMS) by FirstBank UK Limited (FirstBank UK), the UK subsidiary of First Bank Nigeria Limited, a leading West African bank.
Through the integration of TOMS into its operational framework, FirstBank UK will gain access to a comprehensive suite encompassing data analytics, communication tools, and order and execution management solutions. This integration aims to enhance the efficiency of FirstBank UK's fixed income bonds business.
As a niche market-maker serving customers in Africa, FirstBank UK specializes in providing market liquidity in cash bonds, predominantly in Nigerian, Angolan, Egyptian, and Ghanaian Eurobonds. This strategic approach aids the bank in managing risk and optimizing its inventory. TOMS, with its extensive coverage, empowers the trading desk of FirstBank UK to efficiently support its client base, monitor positions, assess profit and loss (P&L), and manage risks.
Olukorede Adenowo, CEO-designate at FirstBank UK, emphasized the benefits of Bloomberg TOMS, stating, “By integrating with our existing systems, Bloomberg TOMS provides FirstBank UK with a complete end-to-end trading workflow covering African bonds in most of our home markets. The solution enables us to focus on expanding our footprint in the African Fixed Income landscape and deliver a first-in-kind service to our customers in Africa.”
Lisa Bravo, Global Head of Sell-Side OMS at Bloomberg, expressed satisfaction in assisting FirstBank UK in enhancing operational efficiency through TOMS. Bravo highlighted that TOMS empowers firms to establish a seamless workflow from the front and middle office to operations and enterprise applications, offering real-time execution, risk management, and P&L analytics for front office users.
In its pursuit of digitization, FirstBank UK has further advanced its order management workflow by providing clients access to liquidity through its Eurobond Single-Dealer Platform. This platform has been integrated with Bloomberg TOMS, consolidating order handling and aggregated custom analytics and liquidity tools within a single interface. Robert Hagenaars, Head of Markets at FirstBank UK, underscored the significance of this integration, stating, “The integration of TOMS with our custom-built electronic trading platform allows our customers real-time access to liquidity in our markets, something unique to the majority of our customers.”