Nevertheless, the ten-year German government bond, known as the “Bund”, enjoys benchmark status in EMU with the lowest yield and a remarkably liquid market. The “Bund” is the main underlying product for the contracts of Eurex, the derivatives exchange in Frankfurt.
While progress has been slower than we would have liked, the slow progress by the major banks did create competitive openings for other players, which led to some innovation. The major banks now also all offer least-cost routing, with some making it the default offering for small and medium-sized businesses. So there has been significant progress.