Economics

Europe’s Bond Traders Face Overhaul Seen Stricter Than U.S.

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The biggest transformation in the history of Europe’s $11.4 trillion corporate bond market has kicked off with dealers and investors asked to adopt changes even stricter than those that prompted upheaval on Wall Street more than a decade ago.

In its efforts to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis, the European Union is seeking to make the credit market more transparent by publicly disclosing bond-trading prices. Dealers are concerned they will suffer the fate of their U.S. counterparts after the introduction of the Trace bond-price reporting system in 2002, when a study found $1 billion in commissions were wiped out in the first year alone.