The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has given approval for four members, including two U.S. money-center banks, to act as market makers for one year in an after-hours trading system for futures and options.
Chase Manhattan Bank and Chemical bank were granted that role for currency futures and options that will trade on the system between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. central time.
Also approved as market makers were Morgan Stanley & Co. and the French bank Societe Generale.
The first automated trading system of its kind, known as Globex, will be launched June 25. The system will initially list the exchange's futures and options on German marks, Japanese yen, and the mark-yen cross-rate. The Chicago Board of Trade's futures and options on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes will also be listed.
After several weeks of trading, Globex will list other Chicago Merc products, including three-month Eurodollar futures and options, as well as interest rate products from the board of trade. Those products will include 30-year Treasury bond futures and options.
