Mercado Abierto Electrónico
| Industry | Financial services |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Argentina |
| Products | Trading platform for securities, foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, foreign exchange, swaps, futures, bills of exchange, bonds |
Mercado Abierto Electrónico (MAE) represents an electronic marketplace for trading securities and foreign currencies within Argentina. It functions via a modular digital platform that supports transactions involving government and private fixed-income instruments, foreign exchange, swaps, as well as currency and interest rate futures. Additionally, this system enables the trading of bills of exchange and bonds issued by the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA), while also overseeing the initial public offerings of National State bonds.
History
The Mercado Abierto de Títulos Valores (Open Securities Market) was created in 1970 and experienced substantial growth by 1980, boasting over 450 brokerage firms. MAE itself was officially founded in 1988. In 1999, international collaboration began when Uruguay’s Electronic Stock Exchange (BEVSA) gained access to the SIOPEL electronic trading platform, fostering technological cooperation.
By 2000, MAE had licensed the SIOPEL system to the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (BOVESPA). In 2002, a Master Agreement was signed between MAE, the Chilean Electronic Stock Exchange (BEC), and BEVSA to interconnect their electronic trading platforms, enabling cross-border trading despite differences in location and technology.
In 2004, a partnership with Mercado de Valores del Litoral (MVL) led to the installation of SIOPEL for MVL members to promote regional market integration. The following year, agreements with the Colombian Stock Exchange (BVC) and the Bank of the Republic (Colombia) (BRC) introduced SIOPEL to Colombia’s fixed and floating income sectors from 2006 onward. Also in 2006, Buenos Aires' Forward Market (Mercado a Término de Buenos Aires) implemented SIOPEL for futures and options transactions starting in April 2007.
Towards the close of 2006, MAE expanded its influence by partnering with Costa Rica’s National Stock Exchange (BNVCR) to deploy SIOPEL. This initiative unified trading interfaces, sped up transaction processing, and strengthened market security.