London, [16th December 2025] – The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the FIX Trading Community have jointly released a white paper examining the electronic distribution of bond market axes across Europe. The report highlights how FIX standards are being applied to improve consistency, reliability, and security in axe dissemination as markets transition to automated trading environments.
Axes – traditionally a bilateral dealer-to-client communication tool, are now increasingly shared electronically. The paper explores the operational challenges this shift creates, including data integrity, divergent interpretations of what constitutes a genuine axe, the rise of algorithmic axes, and the impact of smart RFQ routing on dealer behaviour.
A key concern raised by market participants is information leakage, with both buy-side and sell-side firms emphasizing the need for tighter controls to protect sensitive position data. The report suggests that clearer FIX data fields, standardised workflows, and robust connectivity can enhance market efficiency while safeguarding confidentiality.
While the paper does not prescribe best practices, it provides a foundation for industry dialogue on improving the integrity and usefulness of axe data in modern electronic trading. This initiative marks the first step in a joint ICMA-FIX workstream aimed at supporting more reliable and effective pre-trade transparency in fixed income markets.
Download the full white paper here
About FIX Trading Community
The Financial Information eXchange (FIX) Protocol is the industry standard for real-time electronic communication in global financial markets. The FIX Trading Community is a non-profit organization of market participants that collaboratively develops and promotes the FIX family of standards and related best practices across asset classes and the trade lifecycle, from pre-trade through post-trade.
For more information, please visit https://www.fixtrading.org/ and follow us on LinkedIn.