AU2002322749A1 - Conversational dealing system - Google Patents

Description

E3879.0045 CONVERSATIONAL DEALING SYSTEM

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Apphcation No. 09/753,940 filed

January 3, 2001 and U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/308,618 filed July 30, 2001. The entirety of these applications are hereby incoφorated by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to dealing systems and in particular to conversational dealing or trading system dealing in instruments between parties. It is particularly, but not exclusively, related to financial trading and dealing systems which trade various financial instruments. The invention is particularly concerned with the parsing of conversational messages input into the system by traders.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It has become commonplace to trade financial instruments using computer systems. These have, to a large extent, replaced open outcry trading methods in which traders traded face to face on trading floors. Various computerised trading systems have evolved for trading different instruments such as foreign exchange spot (FX Spot), forward rate agreement (FRAs) and other instruments. Some systems are anonymous, in that the counterparties to a trade do not know the identity of other counterparties in the market until a deal has been done. Successful anonymous trading systems have bee operated for a number of years by EBS Dealing Resources, Inc. and by Reuters pic. The latter company has also run a conversational dealing system known as Reuters 2000/1 which computerises the conversational exchange between traders in reaching a deal allowing deal negotiation between traders.

Existing dealing systems have tended to support traders trading a single instrument. In large institutions, where a given trader only trades a single

37743 V1 T4F01I DOC instrument this does not cause any difficulties. However, in smaller institutions, a foreign exchange trader, for example, may trade several types of instruments for one or more currency pairs. It is inconvenient for such a trader to have to use several different trading systems or to have to use a mix of computerised systems and traditional trading methods such as voice brokers.

There is, therefore, a need for a system which integrates trading of a number of instruments on a single platform to simplify trading, particularly for traders in smaller institutions.

Financial markets such as foreign exchange markets can operate at extreme speed. Dealers are required to react to market activity nearly instantaneously to avoid losing potential deals. As a result, the trader terminal must be visually very simple and easy for the trader to assimilate new or changing information. The ability to trade a number of different instruments from a single terminal adds to the complexity and can lead to more information being presented to the trader.

At any one time, a trader may be involved in many deals, some which will mature into done deals and others which will be cancelled at some stage prior to completion. These deals may be in a variety of instruments. Each of these deals will have instrument specific information which the trader must be able to see to enable him to make the deal. However, displaying all this information on the screen makes the screen visually hard to interpret for the trader and is, therefore, not desirable.

Reuters pic operates a conversational dealing system under the trademark REUTERS DEALING 2000/1. In this system, traders type conversation text into the terminals which relates to deals they want to execute. The conversation text may have no deal related content or may include information related to the deal. The system passes the conversation as it entered into the system, on a character by character basis. When a deal is completed the parties are asked to confirm the deal and may renegotiate the deal terms.

37743 v1 T4F01^I DOC Although the Reuters 2000/1 system has operated successfully for a number of years, we have appreciated that the approach taken to parsing has a number of disadvantages. The present invention, in its various aspects, aims to overcome those disadvantages and to provide improved parsing in a conversational dealing system and, in turn, to improve the usefulness and acceptability of such a system to traders and institutions. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the invention resides in the use of parsing to detect terms in conversation which indicate a change in deal status. More specifically, there is provided a conversational dealing system for trading instruments between counterparties, comprising: a pluraUty of trader terminals each having a user interface for inputting and displaying to the trader conversational messages including deal related information, the trader terminals communicating with each other via a communications network, the trader terminals each further comprising a parser for parsing said inputted conversational messages, said parser comprising: means for analysing the conversational messages to detect a change in the status of a deal, the deal having a pluraUty of possible statuses; means for analysing the conversational messages to detect deal related information relevant to said detected status of the deal; and means for returning a parsed message comprising the deal status and relevant deal related information to the user interface.

Embodiments of this aspect of the invention have the advantage that parsing of conversations is greatly simplified. In the first instance the parser needs to detect changes in status between one of only a few possible deal statuses. When a change of status has been detected there is only a Umited number of terms of deal related information that are relevant to that status making parsing very simple.

A second aspect of the invention performs parsing on complete conversational messages provided from the terminal. More specifically, there is provided a conversational dealing system for trading instruments between

37743 v1, T4F01! DOC counterparties, comprising: a pluraUty of trader terminals each having a user interface for inputting and displaying to the trader deal related information as conversational messages, the trader terminals communicating with each other via a communications network, the trader terminals each further comprising a parser for parsing said inputted conversational message, wherein said parser includes: means for receiving complete conversational messages from the user interface and for analysing the complete messages to detect deal related information and form a parsed message; and means for returning the parsed message to the user interface. Parsing complete lines of conversation is highly advantageous as it enables a structured approach to parsing to be adopted in which the message can be parsed to look for a first function, such as change in deal status, and then parsed in a manner dictated by the first function. This is not possible in prior art systems which parse character by character. A third aspect of the invention enables the user to view and alter parsed messages before they are sent to the counterparty.

More specificaUy, there is provided a conversational dealing system for trading instruments between counterparties, comprising: a pluraUty of terminals each having a user interface for inputting and displaying to the trader deal related information as conversational messages, the trader terminals communicating with each other via a communications network, the trader terminals each further comprising a parser for parsing said inputted conversational message, wherein said parser includes: means for analysing conversational messages from the user interface to detect deal related information and form a parsed message; means for returning the parsed message to the user interface and displaying the parsed message; and means for confirming or altering the parsed message content prior to transmission of message to a counterparty trader terminal.

Once a parsed message has been formed, the user may accept it, edit it or cancel it. The counterparty wiU only see the final message that is sent, if any. Thus, if a trader makes a mistake, changes his mind, or the market conditions

37743 v1, T4F01! DOC suddenly change, the trader can change or delete a message that would otherwise have been sent. Not only is this convenient to the trader, it is highly advantageous to the trader's market position as he does not have to reveal his trading position and his thought processes until he is happy with his position. In prior art systems, in which conversations are parsed as they are typed in, this is not possible. Although either party can cancel or try to amend the terms of a deal once it has been completed, they have, by then, revealed their hand to the counterparty, which is undesirable.

A further aspect of the invention enables more that one conversation to be current with the same counterparty at any one time. If the parser detects information relating to a new deal at any time, regardless of the status of the present deal, it notifies the user interface and a new conversation, or deal, is initiated.

More specificaUy, there is provided a conversational dealing system for trading instruments between counterparties, comprising: a pluraUty of trader terminals each having a user interface for inputting and displaying to the trader deal related information as conversational messages, the trader terminals communicating with each other via a communications network, the trader terminals each further comprising a parser for parsing said inputted conversational messages, wherein said parser includes: means for analysing conversational messages from the user interface to detect deal related information and form a parsed message; and means for returning the parsed message to the user interface and displaying the parsed message; wherein the system further comprises: means for initiating a deal with a counterparty on request from a trader; and means for initiating a further deal with the same counterparty on detection by the parser of deal related information relating to a deal additional to a current deal.

A system embodying this aspect of the invention has the advantage of being highly flexible and reacts to the way in which traders work and think. If a trader, at any stage of negotiating a deal with a counterparty, asks for a quote on

37743 v1 T4F01I DOC an unrelated deal, the system wiU detect that quote request and initiate a new deal. Both deals, and any further new deals can progress together but completely independently of each other. Prior art systems only enable a single conversation to be held within a given counterparty at any one time. In a further aspect of the invention, a parser is dumb in that it retains no knowledge of the deal making process. The parser parses a line of conversation and returns a file comprising the deal status and related deal information.

More specificaUy, there is provided conversational dealing system for trading instruments between counterparties, comprising: a pluraUty of trader terminals each having a user interface for inputting and displaying to the trader deal related information as conversational messages, the trader terminals communicating with each other via a communications network, the trader terminals each further comprising a parser for parsing said inputted conversational messages, wherein said parser includes: means for analyzing conversational messages from the user interface to detect deal related information and form a parsed message; and means for returning the parsed message to the user interface and displaying the parsed message; whereiri on returning the parsed message to the user interface, the parser retains no record of the parsed message or the deal to which it relates. Embodiments of this aspect of the invention have the advantage that the parser is very simple. Furthermore, as the parser stores no historical information it is easy to download it to the user, for example as an Applet, each time the user logs on to the system. This makes the system suitable for use in an Internet environment and makes it very easy for traders to access the system as they not have to load the parser onto their workstations themselves. It also reduces the overheads on IT support in user organisations such as banks or other financial organisations.

In a further aspect of the invention, a level of filtering of parsed messages is introduced between trader terminals. This aUows parsed messages to

37743 V1. T4F01I DOC be checked to ensure that they conform to the business or operating rules of the system.

More specificaUy, there is provided a conversational dealing system for trading instruments between counterparties, comprising: a pluraUty of trader terminals each having a user interface for inputting and displaying to the trader deal related information as conversational messages, the trader terminals communicating with each other via a communications network, the trader terminals each further comprising a parser for parsing said inputted conversational messages, wherein said parser includes: means for analyzing conversational messages from the user interface to detect deal related information and form a parsed message; and means for returning the parsed message to the user interface and displaying the parsed message; wherein the system further comprises: a server for receiving parsed messages including deal related information from trader terminals and distributing the parsed messages to destination terminals, the server including means for check the acceptabiUty of parsed messages sent from a trader terminal prior to communication to a destination trader terminal and for rejecting unacceptable parsed messages without passing the rejected message to the destination trader terminal.

This aspect of the invention has the advantage that iUegal deals can be filtered out without a deal being agreed on by the parties. Moreover, the filtering may include a credit check to ensure that each party has sufficient resources to complete the deal. A credit check may be integrated into an institutional credit system which typically set limits on the trades that can be completed with any counterparty over a set period of time. If the parsed message is rejected as unaUowable, the intended recipient has no knowledge that the message was ever sent. This is advantageous as the trader does not disclose information as to his dealing position except when trades are possible.

37743 V1 : T4F011.DOC This aspect of the invention is also advantageous as it prevents traders wasting time, often in a very volatile and fast moving market, on trades which would otherwise be rejected as unaUowable once they had been concluded. In a further aspect of the invention, messages displayed at the user interface are colour coded according to origin.

More specificaUy, there is provided a conversational dealing system for trading instruments between counterparties, comprising: a pluraUty of trader terminals each having a user interface for inputting and displaying to the trader conversational messages including deal related information, the trader terminals communicating with each other via a communications network, wherein the conversational message are displayed in a colour coded form to indicate to the user the origin of the conversational messages.

In one preferred embodiment, messages generated by the user are shown in a first colour, messages generated by a counterparty in a second colour, and messages generated by the system, in a third colour. System messages may include parsed messages based on user or counterparty input conversational messages.

Preferably, warning messages, error or danger messages are each shown in a further colour. This aspect of the invention has the advantage of making the user display much more intelUgible. This is very important in a fast moving market in which a trader may have many deals pending at any time and in which he is required to analyse deal information very quickly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention wiU now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a trading system; Figure 2 is a further schematic diagram showing the main functional components of a trader terminal;

37743 v1 T4F011 DOC Figure 3 is a view of the user interface of a trader Terminal, according to a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 is a sirrύlar view to figure 3 showing a number of conversation panels; Figure 5 is a view of a deal stack within the user interface and showing the deal detail panel;

Figure 6 is a further view of the deal stack and deal detaU panel with a different deal highUghted in the deal detail panel from figure 5;

Figure 7 is a further view of the deal stack showing a deal detail panel for a completed Forwards deal;

Figure 8 is a further view of the deal stack showing the deal detail panel displaying an error box;

Figure 9 is a stiU further view of the deal stack showing the deal detaU panel displaying potentiaUy modifiable fields highUghted; Figure 10 shows the deal stack with the deal detail panel showing a completed F/X Spot deal including the value of the done deal;

Figure 11 shows the deal stack with the deal detail panel showing a forward deal with a Spot Rate Query message; and

Figure 12 shows how the Spot rate query message of figure 11 appears at the counterparty's deal detaU panel as a warning message.

Figure 13 is a flow chart showing an overview of the parsing process;

Figure 14a and 14b are flow charts showing the parsing process in more detaU;

Figure 15 is a screen shot of a second embodiment of the user interface showing a parsed message entered by the maker;

Figure 16 shows the screen of Figure 15 when d e parsed message has been sent but not picked up;

Figure 17 shows the taker's interface when die parsed message is received;

Figure 18 shows the taker's interface when the system is waiting for the taker to quote;

37743 v1. T4F01I.DOC Figure 19 shows the maker's screen when a quote is received; Figure 20 shows the maker's screen when a deal has been finaUsed; Figure 21 shows an example of a warning message and an error message together with a second conversation being initiated out of the first conversation; and

Figure 22 shows a further example of warning messages. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The system iUustrated schematicaUy in figure 1 is a conversational dealing system for trading a variety of financial instruments. Instruments which may be traded include, but are not Umited to, foreign exchange (F/X) spot, forwards, and outrights. Although the foUowing description wiU concentrate on F/X spot and forwards, it is to be understood that this is purely for the purposes of iUustrating the invention and that the invention is not Umited to any particular financial instruments or even to financial instruments. It is equaUy appUcable to the trading of any other fungible such as commodities, metals, etc.

The iUustrative system is preferably an internet based system in which traders communicate with other traders from trader terminals across the internet. Trades are agreed upon by an exchange of messages between traders. The message content is automaticaUy parsed by the system to identify deal related content for processing. Once the parsing has detected a deal status change, the remainder of the deal processing is handled by the deal stack. Deal status change need not be entered by conversation but may be directly input from the traders terminal, for example by using on screen function buttons or keyboard driven menus. Thus, d e system also aUows users to deal by a simple exchange of deal content data which is non-conversational and by a mixture of the two methods. The foUowing description gives an overview of the trading system within which the user interface is used by traders to execute deals. However, it is to be understood that this is only one example of a trading system suitable for use with d e invention. The invention is not Umited to any particular trading system but is applicable to any system in which a trader is trading multiple instruments. Such

37743 1, T4F01l DOC a system may be internet based or operate on a conventional pubUc or private network. It may use a distributed architecture or operate using a central host or may be configured in any other manner.

Referring now to figure 1, a trading system 10 disclosed is based on a pluraUty of server farms 12 connected through a system intranet 14. The server farms 12 communicate with trader terminals 16 at bank trading floors through a communications network, here the Internet 14, and local bank intranets 18. The majority of deal processing takes place at trader terminals 16 with deal messages being passed by the server farms 12 to counterparty trader terminals 16. The server farms also pass done deal information to bank back office systems (not shown) to enable deal tickets to be produced and trades to be settled. The deals are input into the system 16 either directiy by the trader or through parsed conversation exchanged between traders, as wiU be described. Parsing takes place at the trader terminals. Figure 2 shows the user terminals 16, as weU as one server farm, schematicaUy. A pluraUty of trader terminals 16, two of whom are shown, communicate with each other, and with other terminalsl(not shown) by exchanging conversational messages via a system server forming part of the server farm. Each cUent terminal 16 has three logical components: a user interface 20, a communications module 22 and a parser 24. The cUent terminals are typicaUy a suitable computer such as a PC or workstation having conventional components such as input devices including a keyboard and a mouse, and a monitor, which presents the user interface to a trader.

The trader terminals 16 and the server 26 communicate via a communications network which may be a private network or a public network such as the Internet, for example via the World Wide Web, as shown in Figure 1. The communications module may, for example, be a modem at the trader terminal or client local area network, or some other suitable device.

The parser 24 performs an analysis of conversations exchanged between trader terminal and extracts deal related information from those conversational

37743 vl: T4F01I.DOC exchanges as wiU be described in detail. The functional components of the system: the parser 24, the user interface 20 and the communications software for the communication module 22 are preferably downloaded to the trader terminals as an applet each time a trader logs on to the system. This means that the cUent terminal does not have to store any software in order to access and run the system, aU of which may be done by accessing a suitable site on the World Wide Web. The system 10 may be used by a trader no matter where he or she is located. However, as wiU be seen, the system is intended to trade very large amounts of currency and currency products, as weU as other fungibles, and, in practice, is restricted to banks and other institutions of proven credit worthiness. Nevertheless, the portabiUty and flexibility of the system is advantageous to traders and is not ava able in prior art conversational dealing systems in which access is limited to a proprietary network.

In the preferred embodiment, the sever 26 includes a deal server 28 and a chat server 30. These form a part of the server farm of figure 1. The deal server acts to verify the details of proposed deals against business and banking rules and aUows other checks to be made before a proposed deal is made visible to a potential counterparty. This may include the deal maker's creditworthiness; that is their abiUty to settle the trade they are proposing. The chat server 60 handles the exchange of conversations between cUents on the network. As wiU be discussed, conversational messages, which may or may not contain deal related information, are passed between cUents via the chat server. A cUent can participate in several conversations at any given time and can conduct several different conversations with a particular other different cUent simultaneously, aUowing two parties to have two or more deals under negotiation at die same time.

Figure 3 shows the user interface which is displayed at each trader terminal. The display comprises a number panels. To an extent the panels displayed are configurable by each trader according to his or her preferences although some of the panels are permanent. In essence d e display 100 includes

37743 V1. T4F01I DOC three notional containers 102, 104 and 106. Container 102 is the upper of the three containers and extends across the width of the display, beneath the upper container is a lower left container 104 and a lower right container 106. To the left of the containers is a configurable icon display 108. The upper container only displays panels which require the fuU width of the traders display area. Each of the panels which can be displayed is assigned one of two priorities. A panel with priority 1 may not be obscured. A panel with priority 2 may be covered or given zero height. In either circumstance the panel data model is maintained when the panel is invisible allowing the data contained to be displayed when they become visible again.

There are three permanent panels each of which have priority 1. These are shown in figures 3 and 4. In the upper container 102 is displayed a deal stack 110, in the lower left container 104 is displayed a conversations area 112 containing a number of conversations in which the trader is participating, and in the lower right container is displayed an mcoming conversations panel 114 in which incoming conversational messages are displayed. The mcoming messages include conversations in which the trader is not yet participating, and may never, participate.

The optional panels which the trader may choose to display include: A Trader Deal panel (not shown), assigned a priority 1 and showing aU the deals done by the trader and which may be displayed in either of the two lower containers;

An Overview panel (not shown), assigned a priority 1 and positioned in either of the two lower containers; A Deal Log panel (not shown) having a priority 2 and showing deals logged by the system and displayed in the upper container 102; A Rates Area 116 which displays d e current trading rates on the system for various currency pairs and which is assigned a priority 2; and

A Conversation Archive (not shown) positioned in one of the lower containers and which has a priority 2.

37743 V1. T4F01I DOC As can be seen from figure 4, some of the panels include a button bar along their lower edge. The various functions of the buttons wiU be discussed below. The conversation panels button bars include a float button. CUcking on this button enables the position of the panel to be varied around the screen, even outside the window in which the entire system is displayed. This may be useful, for example, when the cUent wants to display several optional panels or there are a larger number of conversations open. In the embodiment described up to ten conversations may be ongoing at one time, although it wiU be appreciated that this is an arbitrary number which may be varied. The mcoming conversations panel Usts only incoming conversational messages. In the example of figure 3, there is a single conversation displayed. At this time, the cUent is not a party to the conversation. The conversation is displayed under four headings: ID, which is the unique conversation identity number; Time, which is the time at which the conversation was initiated by the counterparty; From, which is the identity of the counterparty initiating the conversation; and Message, which is the latest message line in the conversation. In the figure 3 example, the message A Conversation started by peter@CITQ' has been sent by a trader identified as Peter at the institution having the identifier CITQ. The conversation was initiated at 13.34.54 and has the ID No. 1791. Each new conversation is identified with an ID No. It is also associated with a Deallnfo file which is a set of deal related information including the deal type: Spot FX, FX Outrights, Forwards etc.; the deal amount, the deal direction (maker, taker) and other necessary information. A Deallnfo structure also includes the current status of the deal. Central to the manner in which conversations are parsed is the concept of a deal be g in one of a number of states indicating how far d e deal has progressed. In essence, d ese states begin with No State, which relates to conversation with no deal related information; RFQ which is die state in which a request for a quote has been identified by die parser; Quote, in which a quote has been identified by the parser in response to

37743 V1. T4F01I DOC the RFQ; and Buy/SeU in which the deal is completed by one party agreeing to buy or seU at the price quoted.

Underneath the Incoming Conversations panel is a button bar with buttons marked 'Pick Up', 'Clear', 'Transfer' and 'Chat'. To select a conversation for action the cUent dicks on the conversations line, which wiU cause that conversation line to be displayed in a different colour from any other conversations in the panel (in the present case it is the only conversation). If the cUent clicks on the 'Pick Up' button, a Conversation panel is opened in the bottom left container 104 for the selected conversation (Fig. 4). At this point the system causes aU other parties to whom the conversational message has been sent to display the message 'username has joined the conversation'. When a party joins a conversation they see that conversation only from the point at which they joined it. Once a first person has picked up an invitation to chat to a deal code, that invitation wiU be withdrawn from aU other parties to which the invitation was sent.

Once a trader picks up a conversation, the conversation is removed from his Incoming Conversations panel.

The 'Clear' button, when cUcked, causes the selected conversation to be cleared from the display. When a conversation is cleared, the conversation initiator wiU receive a 'Conversation declined by username' in their own Conversations panel.

The 'Transfer' button is only enabled if a conversation is bUateral. If cUcked, the conversation wiU be transferred to the trader or Deal Code specified in the Transfer Conversation dialog. Rules may be estabUshed defining to whom, if anyone, a given trader may transfer a conversation.

The 'Chat' button invokes die launching of a conversation session and also opens a conversation panel in the conversation area. Multiple conversations may be opened with die same person, aldiough a warning box will preferably be displayed to notify the cUent if he is attempting to open a second or subsequent conversation wid the same person.

37743 1. T4F01I DOC AU the functionaUty of the button bar may be displayed, alternatively, as a drop down menu to enable operation by keyboard only.

Referring now additionaUy to figures 5 to 7, the deal stack shows a Ust of deals in which the trader is involved in and which are pending or completed. The Deal Stack 130 comprises the foUowing major components: A Deal

List 132, a Deal Detail Panel 134, and a Button Bar 136. The deal Ust presents information about a deal under four headings: the deal Status 120, the Time 122, the Counterparty (Trader/Bank) 124, the Instrument which is being traded 126 and the Deal 126 that is being made. The information presented in the deal Ust 132 is independent of the instrument being traded. This is achieved by the use of the deal detail panel and is extremely advantageous as it a ows the deal stack to be presented to the cUent in a very simple manner, with the minimum amount of information and in a manner which is easUy assirrnlated by the trader. To understand the text of the Deal field 126 it must first be appreciated how deal related information can be put into the system and how the system understands that information as relating to a deal. Deal information may be submitted to the system in one of two ways: direct deal put or parsing of conversations. Parsing of conversations wiU be discussed in greater detaU later. At this stage it is sufficient to appreciate that parsing involves the system analysing conversational messages to determine whether they contain any deal related content. If they do, then the deal is displayed in the deal Ust.

A deal is commenced by a 'Request For a Quote' (RFQ) input into the system by a trader. An RFQ is an indication by a trader that he is interested in trading. The first line of d e deal list in figure 3 shows an RFQ. Here, the trader has put a request out to d e market to trade $2.5 MiUion in the US$/Canadian doUar market. At this stage no bid or offer prices are given and there is no indication whedier trader wishes to buy or sell. The RFQ could have been input into the system as a conversational message or by the trader making a direct input, in which case he hits the RFQ button in the deal button bar. This will display a panel asking for the instrument, the currency pair and the amount.

37743 v1, T4F01^l DOC Thus a deal may be initiated either by the entry into the system of a direct quote request or by the detection of a quote request by the parsing of conversations. For convenience the latter may be referred to as an indirect quote request.

When an RFQ is received or detected, the system determines the text that wiU be displayed in the deal Ust. This wiU either be a transUteration of the direct RFQ or a representation of the parsed, indirect RFQ.

A number of deal statuses are defined for each instrument. Each of these has an associated status string which is displayed in the Status field, a deal string which is the text displayed in the deal field and an understood description.

Some examples of deal statuses for F/X Spot are as foUows:

Terminal Status

37743 V1. T4F01' DOC

The Deal Strings and Status Strings associated with some of the above are as foUows: It should be appreciated that the deal string is the conversational text which is substituted by the system for the actual conversation entered by the trader or the substituted when the trader enters deal information either using the button bar on the deal stack or equivalent keyboard menus.

Status Status String Deal String

Pre submit - Taker Submitting I request

~AMT~~CCYPAIR~ Pre pickup - Taker Contacting I request

~AMT~~CCYPAIR~

Pre Pickup - Maker Pickup? Can I quote

~AMT~~CCYPAIR~?

Pre Pickup - Taker Contacting I request

~AMT~~CCYPAIR~

37743 V1. T4F01' DOC Pre Pick-up Pickup? Can I quote

~AMT~~CCYPAIR~? to Deal Code Maker

Pre Quote - Taker Accepted Cpty quoting my

~AMT~~CCYPAIR~ Pre Quote - Maker Quote? Can I quote

~AMT~~CCYPAIR~? Pre BuySeU - Taker Buy/SeU? Cpty quoted

-BIDOFR- for ~AMT~~CCY PAIR-

Pre BuySeU - Maker Waiting Accept I quoted -BIDOFR- for -AMT- -CCY PAIR-

Pre Requote - Taker Re-quoting I request -AMT

-CCYPAIR- Pre Requote - Maker Re-quote? Can I quote

~AMT~~CCYPAIR~?

Sold - Taker I seU I seU at -AMT-

~CCYPAIR~@~BID~

Bought - Maker I buy I seU at -AMT-

~CCYPAIR~@~OFR~

Bought - Taker I buy I buy at -AMT-

~CCYPAIR~@~BID~ Sold - Maker I sell I buy at -AMT-

~CCYPAIR~@~OFR~ The following is an example of the deal statuses where die instrument is a Forward deal:

37743 V1. T4F01' DOC

Terminal Statuses

37743 v1,T4F01l DOC

For every deal in the deal stack there is a corresponding conversation session. In some cases, the RFQ wiU have originated from a conversation. In others it wiU have not. In the latter case, a direct quote, a conversation is created but a conversation panel is only opened, that is, the conversation is exposed, if specificaUy requested by the trader.

Thus, whenever the system performs an action on a deal in response to a Trader action, a message line is included in the conversation session indicating the nature of this action. This message line is in a form where if the Trader had exposed the underlying conversation and typed in the message text it wiU parse and produce the same action on the deal. The Message wiU be in a form that reflects the best conversational practice from the point of view of parsing.

The Deal List displays aU Uve RFQs that the trader is involved with. He may see other RFQs if the appropriate options are set. The Trader wiU preferably have the option of clearing completed deals automaticaUy as tiiey are completed. The Trader wiU preferably have the option of seeing aU RFQs that have been auto-forwarded from his account. Auto-forwarded RFQs shaU be cleared from the Deal List by the Clear function.

As mentioned above, the Deal List is wholly independent of the instrument being traded. Thus, the Deal List only displays five columns: Status,

37743 vl; T4F01I.DOC Time, Trader/Bank, Instrument, and Deal. The Deal column contains an instrument/status specific string that is generated by the system to describe the deal.

To balance the independence of the deal Ust 132, the Deal DetaU Panel 134 at the bottom of the Deal List has an instrument specific format and reflects full detaUs of the deal that is currentiy selected in the Ust.

When a new Deal is added to the Deal List it is inserted at the bottom of the Ust regardless of the currendy selected sort order (a re-sort is used to position the deal correctiy in the sort order). When a deal is added to the Deal List, as a result of the trader's actions (RFQ or Chat), the item last added to the table becomes the selected item. The Ust is scroUed so that the selected item is visible to the trader.

If the new deal is initiated by a Counterparty the selected deal does not change. If focus is in the Deal List, the currendy selected item does not change when a new deal is added to the Ust. If a new deal is added to the Deal Stack such that the Deal Stack would have to be scroUed to view the deal, then the scroUbar's background flashes, for example red, until the deal is made visible by scrolling.

The Deal Detail panel may contain buttons and other controls that relate to instrument specific functionaUty which is not avaUable through the standard Deal Stack buttons. When a deal is in a modifiable state the modification is done via edit controls in the Deal Detail panel. These potentiaUy modifiable fields shaU have a different colour, for example, cyan, background to the rest of the deal Detail panel. The deal detaU panel itself may be a different colour, for example yeUow, than d e deal list. When the fields are editable they may be distinguished, for example by a white background with a black border.

37743 1, T4F01^l DOC The Format of the Deal DetaU panel is specific to the instrument of the deal. Every implementation of the panel has certain common fields and controls that are always in the same place: Status, Time, Trader/Bank, Instrument & Error/Warning Combo Box. Figure 5,6,8 and 9 iUustrate the Deal DetaU panel for F/X Spot in various stages of a deal and figure 7 Ulustrates the Deal DetaU panel for F/X forwards at a certain stage of the deal process.

Thus, the Deal DetaU panel 134 includes aU the information in the Deal Ust 132 except that instead of the deal Ust 132 it contains the information which, when entered and then parsed, wiU result in that deal Ust 132. Thus, for F/X Spot (Figure 5), the Deal DetaU panel includes Amount, Currency Pair, Value Date, Bid and Offer prices and Dealt. In figure 5, the deal detail panel is shown for the first deal in the stack. This is a deal which has only just commenced and where the RFQ has been issued. As there are not yet any bid or offer prices, the only fields that are populated are the amount, the currency pair and the value date. When parsed this results in 'I request 2,5 Mil USD. cad' as shown in the top of deal Ust 132.

In figure 6, the deal highUghted is the third in the Ust and, the status of the deal is pre quote B maker, indicating that the maker has picked up the takers quote and is quoting bid and offer prices for 3,200 milUon Japanese Yen. As the amount and the prices can both be edited, they appear in the Deal DetaU panel as black text on a white background.

Figure 7 shows the Deal DetaU panel for a Forward deal. Here, the panel Usts both near and far amounts, the currency, the nature of both the near and far deals, riieir value dates, the left and right hand sides, spot (Figure 5) amounts, all in amounts and deal amounts. In the example shown, die panel relates to the fourth deal in the list which is a completed deal. Thus, aU die fields in the deal detaU panel are populated and none is modifiable. In order that traders can be notified of unallowable entries or mistakes, there is an Error/Warning combo box in the lower left side of the detail panel. This combo box preferably has an entry in its drop down Ust for every error or warning condition associated wid

37743 1, T4F01I DOC the deal. When an error or warning is selected in the combo box, the field to which the error or warning pertains w l be highUghted in a very obvious manner, for example with a red (error) or orange background (warning). Errors and warnings are Usted in the order of their priority. This combo box has an associated label to its right which indicates the number of errors or warnings that the combo box contains. When an alarm or warning condition is changed in the Ust, the highest priority item is the selected item.

Figure 8 shows an example of the error box. Here, the highUghted deal is the third in the deal Ust. This requires both an amount and bid and offer prices. The trader has not entered bid and offer prices and the error box shows that a bid or offer price is required. In addition, the Quote? Status string is highUghted in red and the bid and offer fields which would normaUy be shown white.

The presence of an error in the combo box shaU disable keys and menu items, which aUow the deal to proceed forwards, until the error condition is corrected.

Figure 9 shows the deal detaU panel for a deal that is waiting acceptance. Here, the maker has submitted a quote and the deal is now waiting for an acceptance or refusal from the taker. The amount, bid and offer detaUs are highlighted to indicate that they can be modified. The Status, Time, Trader/Bank, and Instrument column entries are positioned on the Deal DetaU panel exacdy beneath their respective columns in the Deal List. If the columns are resized, their relative positions wUl also change. The Error/Warning combo box and its associated count label wUl preferably automaticaUy have its width set to that of the Status, Time, Trader/Bank and Instrument columns combined. The instrument specific fields beneadi the Deal column wUl resize and position themselves proportionally to the widtii of die Deal column.

The instrument specific fields will now be described in more detaU for the two example instruments. It is to be understood that the invention is appUcable to any instruments and die fields wiU vary from instrument to instrument.

37743 V1. T4F01' DOC The amount field is initiaUy read only and displays the amount of the RFQ in miUions. When the deal reaches the pre quote-maker stage (figure 6), the field becomes editable.

The 'on' currency field is to the right of the amount field and is the currency in which the RFQ is expressed. If it is not the base currency it is displayed, if it is, then it is not displayed. It is not editable until the pre quote B maker stage at which point it becomes editable

The currency pair field simply shows the currency pair being traded.

The value date indicates the value date for the deal and cannot be change by the parties. It is a regular date for the instrument unless indicated otherwise, for example by an asterisk.

The bid and quote fields display bids and quotes where these exist. They are read only except in the pre quote B maker and Pre re-quote maker stages of the deal when they can be edited, as described in relation to figure 6. If a big figure, that is the most significant digits of the price is avaUable from the market feed into the trading system, that figure is used. If an arbitrage situation is present the market feed rate, the big figure from the system best offer is used. This can be seen in the system rates panel which the cUent may choose to display.

The final field is the dealt price field which shows the price at which the deal was done. As can be seen from figure 10, this reflects the side (buy or seU) on which the deal was done. In figure 10, the dealt price is the bid price.

The forwards specific fields shown in the deal detaU panel are as foUows;

Near and Far Amounts. These function in d e same manner as the Amount field in the Spot example. On Currency. This functions in the same manner as the Amount field in the Spot example.

Currency Pair. This functions in d e same manner as d e Amount field in the Spot example.

37743 V1. T4F01! DOC Near and Far Periods. If these periods conform to standard periods, for example one month, they wiU be shown as such. If they do not, they wiU be shown as broken.

Near and Far Dates. This shows the near and far value dates. Left and Right Hand Side Prices. Where a LHS or a RHS exists it wiU be displayed in this field. It is a read only field except then the deal status is in pre quote B maker or pre requote B maker status. When in edit mode this field is pre-populated with the market rate, if avaUable for the bid. If the LHS or the RHS is left blank by the trader, then a one sided price without a bid or offer, respectively, is quoted

Premium and Discount. If the LHS is less than the RHS, the system assumes that the base currency is at a premium to the local currency. If the trader does not enter minuses and the RHS is less than the LHS, the system assumes that the base currency is at a discount to the local currency. Where a discount is detected, the system inserts A- A signs before each value and displays the bid and offer with them. A trader can enter negative amounts for a discount.

Spot Rate. Where a spot rate exists, the Spot Rate Bid field displays it. It is a read only field except when the deal is in I B/S-Rate or I S/B-Rate (I seU/buy or buy/seU at a given rate) status. In edit mode, the field is pre- populated with a middle rate between the bid and offer market rates.

Spot Button. As can be seen from figure 11 , the deal detaU panel includes a Spot button on which the cUent can cUck to display a spot rate query dialog window. The spot button is only visible to the trader when the deal is in I B/S B Confirm or I S/B - Confirm stages. The spot rate query dialog window includes an edit box, allowing the trader to enter text of up to 30 characters having been pre-populated with the text 'Check Rate'. This enables the trader to check the spot rate before committing to a deal. As can be seen from figure 11, the dialog box includes send and cancel buttons. The send button closes the

37743 V1. T4F01! DOC box, transmits the message and changes the deal status to I S/B awaiting rate or I B/S awaiting rate.

When a maker deal receives a Spot Rate Query message against it the message appears as a warning in the error/warning combo box. This is iUustrated in figure 12.

AU In Rate. This field is read only and, when the maker has submitted a spot rate, reflects the aggregate of the dealt rate and the spot rate. For Overnight or Tomorrow-Next periods, the sign of the forward bid or offer is reversed to calculate the aU in rate. Dealt Rate. This is the final field in the deal detaU panel and is a read only field. When the taker has Buy/SeU or SeU/Buy, the field reflects the price from the side of the market dealt on.

Outrights. The fields for the deal detaU panel when the instruments is an outright are not shown as they are the same as for a spot deal referred to above. The deal column displays different status dependent strings for each instrument. Some of these, for spot, were discussed earUer. The strings are not hard coded into the system but are configurable centraUy by the system administrator. The traders preferably do not have control over the strings. As seen before, the status definitions comprise tokens, deUmited by tildes (~) representing the underlying values for the deal.

The tokens for spot and outrights are as foUows:

37743 v1, T4F01! DOC

The tokens for forwards deals are as foUows:

F01I DOC Token Value Format

-CCYPAIR- Ccy pair BASE. local (On currency shaU be in upper case.)

-NEAR- Near As per deal detaU panel Period or Date

-FAR- Far Period As per deal detaU panel or Date

-VALDAT- Value "dd mm yy" Date

-BID- LHS As per the Ccy pair specific format Points

-OFR- RHS As per the Ccy pair specific format Points

-BIDOFR- LHS and If LHS & RHS exist: LHS-RHS If

RHS LHS only: LHS

Points If RHS only: RHS (LHS & RHS As per the Ccy pan- specific format)

-SPOT- Spot Rate As per the Ccy pair specific format

-ALLIN- All In rate As per the Ccy pair specific format

-DEALT- Dealt As per the Ccy pair specific format points

The third part of d e deal stack 130 is the button bar 136 which is beneath d e deal list 132 and the deal detaU panel 134. The button bar gives the trader various options for progressing or cancelling a deal. The button bar is specific to each deal. That is, the button bar displayed wiU depend on d e deal which is selected in the deal stack. Some options wUl not be avaUable to a trader at certain stages of die deal as wiU be explained.

37743 V1. T4F01I DOC Referring back to figures 5 to 8, it wiU be seen that the button bar differs from figure to figure depending on the status of the deal highUghted in the deal Ust. In some cases, buttons are not displayed in bold, indicating that they are not avaUable. In some cases, buttons are substituted. As examples of the latter, the pickup button in figure 5 is replaced by a quote button in figure 6. The cancel button of figure 5 is replaced by the Nothing button in figure 6.

The button bar provides the trader with an alternative, but equaUy va d method of trading to conversational exchanges with counterparties using the conversation panels. The system operates by converting deal instructions entered via the buttons into parsed text in the same manner as it parses conversational text to produce parsed text for the deal Ust deal field.

The buttons avaUable to traders are as foUows:

Pickup (e.g. fig. 5). This enables a trader to 'pickup' an RFQ entered into the system by a taker. As a result the pickup button is only available to the maker and then only when the deal is in the Pre Pickup B Maker status. By pressing pickup the maker indicates that he is interested in quoting on the RFQ. The RFQ may be sent by the taker to one or a number of traders. If it has been sent a deal code (that is a trading floor or floors), on receipt of a pick up, the RFQ wiU be removed from the deal Usts of aU other recipients. Quote (e.g. fig 6). This enables a trader to enter a quote and so is only enabled on the maker side when a deal is in the pre quote B maker status. The action of the quote will vary from instrument. For a spot or outright deal, the system transmits to the taker the makers bid and/or offer together with an amount. For a forward deal the system transmits to the taker the maker's LHS points and/or RHS points together with near and far amounts.

The first button in the button bar combines aU default actions. For d e spot example, d e button wiU revert to pickup but be grayed out for deal statuses otiier than those mentioned above. For forwards, more options are available. When the deal is in the status S/B or B/S Pre Rate - Maker or S/B or B/S Pre Rate 2 - Taker, the button will be displayed as a Rate Button (not shown)

37743 v1 T4F01I DOC enabling the maker to transmit to the system the makers spot rate. When the forward deal is in the status S/B or B/S Pre Confirm - Taker or S/B or B/S Preconfirm 2 - Taker, the button is displayed as a spot button which aUows the Taker to accept the makers proposed spot rate. Chat. This button, which is only avaUable when a single deal is selected causes the conversational panel opened for the deal to be displayed in the bottom left container. Even if the deal has been conducted in a direct not conversational form, the system wiU show a deparsed version of conversation that would have led to that deal state. This is possible as each deal has a conversation with it regardless of how the deal is being conducted, whether by conversation or direct entry using the button bars. The trader can switch to conversation at any time to continue the deal. The system wiU parse that conversation and wiU not distinguish between direct and indirect deal entry methods. In this respect the system is transparent. Hold. This button is only enabled when a selected deal is in Pre Quote -

Maker status. It causes the selected deal to be put back into Pre Pickup - Taker and Pre Pickup - Maker statuses and, if the original RFQ was sent to a deal code, causes the RFQ again to be displayed to aU those parties.

Transfer. This button is only enabled when selected deals are in Pre Quote Maker Status. It enables a trader to transfer the deal to another trader within the limits of a preset authority. Pressing the button wUl cause a dialog box to be displayed into which the trader can enter the code of the trader to which the deal is to be transferred. A message to this effect is displayed on the originator's deal stack so he knows he is now dealing with a different counterparty.

SeU. This button is only enabled for instruments such as Spot or Outrights. It provides a means for a taker to SeU at the Makers bid price and so is only enabled in the Pre BuySeU status when there is a bid from the maker. RFQ. This button enables a Maker to put out a request for a quote to the market. When this button is pressed, die maker has to supply the amount

37743 v1 T4F01I DOC and the currency pair. On receipt of the RFQ by the system, a new conversation is associated with the deal.

The RFQ button converts to the caption FLX when the RFQ has been initiated by conversational parsing on the Taker side and is awaiting confirmation for accuracy by the taker

CaUout. This button enables a trader to initiate a caUout.

Buy. This button is only enabled when a selected deal for an instrument such as a Spot or an Outright is in the Pre Buy/SeU - Taker status where there is an offer from the maker. By hitting the button, the taker indicates to the system that he wishes to buy at the maker's offer price.

Cancel. This is a mmtifunction button whose caption wUl depend on the deal status and the instrument being traded in the selected deal. It is used for aU negative functions. The functions wiU vary from instrument to instrument but for Spot are as foUows:

The negative actions for forwards are as foUows:

37743 v1, T4F01l DOC

Of the various actions mentioned above, the cancel action cancels the existing deal stage, reverting it to a preceding deal stage. The Nothing action indicates that the taker is not interested in a proposed deal. The interrupt action removes the deal from the deal stack and is only enabled when a deal reaches a terminal status, that is it is a completed deal.

Clear AU. This button clears all eUgible deals from the deal stack.

Off AU. This button withdraws aU deals that are in an appropriate form from the market.

The foregoing section has described the trading actions that are avaUable to a trader from the button bar. It is desirable that the trader can perform aU avaUable functions without using a pointing device such as a mouse. Accordingly, the system provides a set up pop up menus which provide the same functionaUty as the button bar but which can aU be invoked from the keyboard. Each function can be invoked by the same keyboard character in each menu. Examples of the characters that can be assigned to functions are:

Mnemonic Action

A Clear AU

B Add Trader to Contact Book

37743 v1 ; T4F01 I.DOC

An example of a possible menu for a deal status is as follows:

Status Menu

"Pre Pickup - c. Chat F4

Taker" f. Fix

(No Default) t. Transfer x. Cancel Esc a. Clear AU Fll (Only if deals to clear)

F01! DOC Status Menu o. OffAU F12 m. Contact Management (incoming only)

r. RFQ F6 u. CaUout F7 z. Sort

PARSING

The description above has been concerned with the traders interface with the dealing system. It has been mentioned that deals can be entered into the system direcdy through the deal stack button bar or equivalent keyboard strokes, or that deals can be entered conversationaUy, which conversation is parsed by the system to extract the deal related information. The next section examines the parsing mechanism.

Parsing within trading systems is, itself, known. Parsing is used in the Reuters Dealing 2000/1 system referred to in the introduction. However, in that system, aU deal transactions are through conversation. The trader does not have the option of using direct deal entry as described above. As a result there is no requirements for the system to be able to deparse deal information. Because of this, and for various other reasons, the parsing requirements of the present system differ markedly from those of the prior art. The foUowing description wiU consider the foreign exchange markets and, in particular, the three instruments discussed above: FX Spot, FX Outrights and FX Futures. First, the manner in which the parser operates will be described by discussing how a conversational deal is executed with reference to the flow diagrams of figures 13, 14a, 14b and the various shots of the user interface of figures 15 to 22. It should first be noted that figures 15 to 22 show a different embodiment of the User Interface from that previously described.

At aU stages in the exchange of chat, die parser monitors the conversations looking for an RFQ (Request for a Quote). The presence of an

37743 V1 T4F01I DOC RFQ alerts the parser that a new deal is being initiated. Thus if two traders are exchanging pleasantries unrelated to a deal, the parser wiU monitor the conversation for an RFQ. The user's parser is responsible for parsing the user's conversation but plays no part in the parsing of conversation received from the other party to a conversation.

In the foUowing example, a new conversation has been initiated by a cUent referred to as CUent 1 and shown in figure 15 as kdunay@EBSN. This user has typed a message into his Chat panel and hit the return key. This causes the User Interface (Figure 2) to send the line of chat to the parser regardless of content. The parser parses the conversation looking for a change of status and for other deal related information. In the present case, the parser has detected an RFQ in the line of chat. That line, although not shown may have been T want 1 Yen'. The parser detects this as an RFQ and then looks for other deal related information which includes the instrument traded, here identified as FX Spot, the currency pair, here US DoUars/Japanese Yen, and the amount, here 1 MiUion. The Parser returns the parsed conversation to the User Interface in the form of the Deallnfo structure referred to earUer and which contains the Deal Status and the deal related information.

Figure 15 shows the situation were the Deallnfo structure has been returned to the User Interface. The RFQ has not yet been entered into the system and is displayed as a parsed line 200 in the deal stack 202. The parsed line can either be canceUed by the user, kdunay@EBSN, by hitting the Red Cancel button 204 or edited, for example to change the amount or the currency if the trader has made a mistake, changes his mind or is reacting to a change in the market conditions. Editing is performed by pressing the 'Fix' button 208. Alternatively, the user may re-enter die conversation so that it is reparsed. To indicate to the user that action is required, the Status of the Une in the deal stack is preferably shown in a representative colour, for example green. The button 206 on d e button bar that the user has to press for the RFQ to be sent is also shown in Green. The parsed conversation is shown in the deal stack in a

37743 V1. T4F01' DOC representative colour, for example red, to show that it is system generated text. At this point, a system message 'Submit?' is also displayed, in red, in the conversation panel.

It wiU be seen that the deal stack of figure 15 differs from that of the earUer example in that it includes a strip 210 above the button bar which displays to the user, significant information about a highUghted deal. Thus the strip includes the deal status 201, the trader 203, the instrument (spot) 205, the currency pair 207, the amount with the base currency indicated and the buy and seU rates. These latter rates are displayed in boxes 212, 214 which are unfiUed in figure 15 as no rate has yet been quoted in this deal.

In the example, the Une of conversation parsed resulted in a detected deal status. The Une of text could simply have said something like 'Hi, how are you'. The parser would not have detected any deal related information but it would stiU send a response to the User Interface to indicate that a Une of conversation had been parsed, but no dealing information had been found.

When the user is satisfied with the parsed line as it appears in the deal stack, he presses the 'Proceed' button 206. This causes the parsed conversation to be sent to the cUent's communications module 22 (Fig. 2) and then to the deal server 28. At this point there are a number of features of the parsing which should be emphasized. First, the parser parses the conversation Une by Une and parsing does not take place until the user has finished typing and hit the send button 216. This contrasts with the system used in the Reuters 2000/1 system referred to earlier which parses conversations Une by Une as they are being typed by the user. The system described here is advantageous in that the user can change what he has typed, for example to react to changes in d e market, or simply to correct errors, without disclosing his hand to the counteφarty trader. Giving the counterparty trader knowledge about a view of the market is highly undesirable as it may affect the bid or offer he makes. Second, the parser plays no part in die deal making process and retains no

37743 v1, T4F01I DOC knowledge of the deal. The parser merely looks at the line of conversation for information relating to the deal status. It returns the Deallnfo structure to the User Interface and does not retain any knowledge of the deal. This makes the parser very simple. Third, the parsing is based on a deal status structure with the emphasis on detecting status movements. The deal status are very simple: None, RFQ, Quote, Buy/SeU although these are elaborated as wUl be discussed. In each of the statuses, there are a number of deal related terms that the parser looks out for. This makes parsing very simple and accurate. Firsdy because there are not many terms to look for and secondly because there is less chance of confusion arising resulting in misparsing. This could occur, for example, if a Une of conversation referred to a historical deal between the parties. By separating the deal process into a number of statuses each of which have a Umited number or parseable terms, it is relatively easy for the parser to avoid such misparsings. The detaUs of the statuses and deal related terms for each status wiU be discussed in detaU later.

In the example given, the conversation parsed by the parser contained both a change in deal status and aU the information that is required to accompany that detected status (instrument, currency pair, etc.). For each of the possible deal statuses there are only a number of permitted transitions and for each deal status there is a limited number of expressions that the parser wiU recognize as indicating a change in status. For example, if the new conversation includes a request for a quote, the parser wiU look for information which indicates a quote. It wiU parse the entire Une and, for a given status wiU look to fill a predetermined number of information fields. These will vary depending on the status. As an example, when the parser is expecting a change in status from RFQ to Quote, it will look to see whether tiiere is an indication of a bid quote and/or an offer quote, or a refusal to quote. If there is a bid/offer quote it also looks for an indication of d e currency, in the case of an FX spot trade. The states of the deals and the fields required will vary depending on the instrument

37743 v1; T4F01I.DOC being traded.

Once the conversation input from the user has been parsed, the parser returns to the user interface one of three possibiUties: a) there is nothing in the conversation that is parseable. This wiU be the case is the conversation does not include any deal related information; b) an update in the deal structure which includes the new deal status and the fields found; c) an error message where there is an ambiguity and it cannot resolve the status change. In this case, the error is displayed in the chat stack and the deal is not changed. Reverting back to the parsed conversation message. From the cUent's communications module 22 the message is sent to the deal server 28 at which point it is checked to ensure that it conforms with system regulations, banking regulation and business related rules. It may also enable credit checks to be made, for example by linking in the deal detaUs to the user bank's global credit checking mechanisms. If the deal cannot proceed a fa ure message is displayed at the user terminal but the counterparty is not made aware of that fact. As far as d e counteφarty is concerned, the RFQ that he put out is simply not answered. This abiUty to conceal faUed deals is advantageous as a user wiU often not want a counteφarty to know that he has tried to deal with him but faUed. He wiU also not want that counteφarty to know the detaUs of the attempted deal as it wiU disclose to him valuable information about his intentions and his reading of the market. This advantage stems from the manner in which d e system parses conversations on a line by Une basis rather tiian in real time as d ey are typed in character by character.

Assuming that the deal server 28 does not reject the RFQ, the parsed message is sent to die destination User Interface via the destination client's communication module. It should be noted that the system is arranged such that the deal server handles all deal related, parsed traffic and the conversation

37743 v1; T4F01I.DOC server handles aU conversations carrying unparsed conversation; that is conversations which the parser has not found to contain a change in deal status. This dual server arrangement is convenient but is not essential and could be replaced by a single server or some other server configuration. Figure 16 shows the user interface after the RFQ has been sent to the counteφarty. The status of the deal in the deal stack is shown as 'waiting pick up' meaning that the User Interface has not been notified that that the counteφarty has picked up the deal from his incoming conversations panel. In the conversation panel for the deal, the cUent's conversation is now shown in a representative colour, for example green, to show that the message originated from the cUent.

Referring now to figure 17, there is shown the user interface of the cUent to whom the RFQ described in figure 14 has been sent. The cUent is identified as test@EBSN. The RFQ message has been passed by the deal server and relayed to cUent test@EBSN. The sending cUent User Interface has also been notified that the message has been sent. The incoming message wiU first appear in the cUent's incoming messages panel. In figure 15, cUent test@EBSN has doubled cUcked that message to open up a new conversation in the active conversation panel. In the figure this is identified as conversation with the name of the counteφarty, kdunay@EBSN identified. The system indicates in the conversation panel that cUent test@EBSN has joined the conversation and displays the parsed message in the deal stack. Note that the message is identified as Quote 1 mU JPY usd/JPY? which is an embeUished version of the parsed message displayed in the maker cUent's deal stack. The original version of the message is shown in d e conversation panel. The message is shown in the conversation panel in a representative colour, for example blue, to indicate that it is an incoming message. In the deal stack, d e status of the deal is shown as 'pickup' and coloured green indicating diat action is required by the client. In tiiis case the client has to respond to the RFQ. The second cUent, test@EBSN then types in his response to the RFQ in

37743 v1. T4F01' DOC the chat Une 220 of the conversation panel and hits the send button 222. In the same manner as the RFQ line, this causes the User Interface to send the complete line of text to the parser which again parses the text and sends back the Deallnfo structure to the User Interface. The parsed text, if it contains a change of status and the necessary deal related information is sent via the deal server to the counteφarty. It should be noted that the parser for cUent kdunay@EBSN only parses conversation entered by that cUent and the parser at cUent test@EBSN only parses conversation entered by that cUent.

Figure 18 shows the counteφarty cUent test@EBSN when a quote has been entered by the user and parsed by the parser but not confirmed by the user. The status in the deal stack shows Quote? and the conversation panel indicates the quote as parsed by the parser foUowed by a question mark. The chat Une of the conversation panel invites the user to proceed. In figure 18, the status in the deal panel is preferably shown in a representative colour showing a warning, in this case orange. The system displays a message in the conversation panel 'Big figure unavaUable'. In this case d e message is false and was generated as the rates panel was disabled but serves to iUustrate how warnings can be shown.

Figure 19 shows cUent kdunay@EBSN's user interface when the response is received. CUent test@EBSN has submitted a quote in response to the RFQ shown as 123.33/123.45. These figures are the buy/seU spread. This is shown in the conversation panel in e.g., blue as it is an incoming message. Note that the previous entry in the panel is the cUent's own conversation. This is shown in a representative colour, for example green. The deal stack shows the change in Status to Buy/SeU, highUghting the status in green. This shows that action is required by the cUent and that the next phase of the deal is either an agreement to buy and seU at the offer price or a denial. It can be seen that the deal information Une shows the offer prices, the amount and the currency pair and that the large boxes on d e bottom strip 212, 214 now include die buy/sell prices. Figure 20 shows the first client's interface after tiiat cUent has replied to

37743 vl: T4F01I.DOC the quote by agreeing to seU at the offer price. The status has changed to I seU and the deal Une now reads 'I seU 1 mU JPY usd/JPY ©123.33. The last Une in the conversation panel shows, in green that the cUent has sold and is preceded by a system prompt, in red, SeU? This prompt appears when the user types in 'SeU' and the change in status to seU is detected by the parser and returned to the User Interface but before the cUent has confirmed the seU by hitting the proceed button.

No matter what the status of a deal, the parser always looks for new RFQs and, if one is detected, opens a new conversation. Thus, in the previous example, instead of agreeing to seU, the cUent kdunay@EBSN could have put in a new request such as T want 1 mU gpb' indicating that he wants to buy one milUon £SterUng against $US. The parser detects this RFQ and opens a new conversation but does not terminate the existing conversation. Then there are now two conversations between the same two parties. The abiUty to run several conversations between the same two counteparties simultaneously is highly desirable. The system can support a large number of simultaneous conversations between the same two counteφarties, for example 10. This should not be confused with the abUity to have a number of conversations open with different counteφarties at the same time which is known in the art and also possible with the system embodying the invention.

The above discussion Ulustrates how the system handles a conversation input by die user. In the course of a deal there will be several lines of conversation, with each handled in d e manner discussed. As soon as a parser has passed on the deal structure and d e fields detected to the user interface, the information is lost from the parser. The parser preferably has no capacity or requirement to retain information regarding the history of the conversation.

Figures 21 and 22 illustrate two furdier aspects of die parser. In figure 21 it can be seen d at there are two separate conversations between test@EBSN and kdunay@EBSN. The two conversations are shown at 224 and 226 in the deal stack and as conversations 1 and 2 in the conversation panel. In figure 21, the

37743 V1. T4F01! DOC second conversation is active. This is the top line of the deal stack. The system is returning an error message as the quote has been input without an amount. The quote status is indicated in a representative colour, e.g., pink, in the deal stack and an error message is displayed in red above the button bar telling the user the source of the problem. In this case it says 'must have amount'. The error is also reflected in the conversation panel which has a series of error messages 'Amount required' 228 foUowed by a further, more emphatic, message 'must have amount' 230

Figure 22 gives another example of the warning message. The situation iUustrated is a development of the second conversation of figure 21. A quote amount has now been entered but the system is again indicating that the big figure is unavaUable and so highUghts the status in orange. The second deal Une in the deal stack is also showing a warning as the deal has been withdrawn by one of the parties. Turning back now to figures 13 and 14. Figure 13 shows an overview of the process described. At step 300, the parser looks to see if there is an identification number for a given conversation. If there is not, at step 302 it creates a new deal info structure and, at step 304, sets the status of the deal to Ano deal®. If there is an ID, it looks up the deal status at step 306 from the previous parse. However, this status is not held at the parser but is provided from the user interface. At step 308 the current deal status is set to the next stage in the deal and at step 310 definitions are appUed to the message according to the current deal status. These determine which terms in the conversation the parser wiU acknowledge as being deal related information. In Figure 14A and 14B, the trader inputs a message to the user interface at step 400. This message is sent by the user interface to the parser where it is received at 410. At 420 the parser attempts to parse d e message. If it cannot be parsed, the conversational message is sent to the chat server at 430 and then to

37743 v1; T4F01I.DOC the intended recipient at 440. A message that cannot be parsed is one that has no deal related content.

If the parser can detect deal related information, at step 450 it determines whether or not there is an error. If an error is detected an error message is sent to the trader at 460.

If there is no error, at step 470 the parser determines whether or not parsing is complete. If it is not, the cUent is asked to complete the information at step 480.

If parsing is completed successfuUy, at step 490, the deal information file is updated and, at step 500, the parsing results are displayed at the user interface.

The trader must then decide whether or not they want to proceed and send the parsed message to the counteφarty (at 510). The confirmation stage is performed by the proceed, edit and cancel buttons on the deal panel described previously. In the simplified diagram of Figure 14B, the edit function is not shown. If the trader does not want to proceed, the deal is canceUed at step 520 without having been shown to the counteφarty. If the trader does want to proceed, at 530 the parsed message is sent to the deal se ver and at 540 the deal server tries to confirm the parsed message against the system business rules. If it cannot confirm the deal at step 550 the trader is informed but the counteφarty trader receives no indication that the message was ever sent. If the deal is confirmed then a confirmation message is sent to the trader at 560 and also to the chat server at 570 and onto the recipient at 440.

The manner in which parsing takes place wiU now be described in more detaU. A general FX terminology module provides an indication of d e common terminology used by dealers to deal FX via the Chat panel on the Trader platform.

The system monitors all conversations conducted via d e chat panel and mterprets text from the conversations into a fixed format withm the deal stack,

37743 v1, T4F01! DOC thus standardizing the deal detaUs and enabling the system to construct a formal deal ticket for each FX deal.

The system can distinguish the important terms within a conversation that relate to the completion of the deal. This includes terms related to requesting a quote, responding with a quote, confirmation of buy or seU, and any notice of special settlement instructions.

The system can distinguish terms within a conversation that could lead to ambiguity as to deal detaUs or whether a deal is in progress at aU. For instance, dealers may be discussing a previous trade or providing indicative quotes internaUy.

The system can ignore terms that are not pertinent to the completion of a deal. That is, friendly formaUties such as discussions regarding the weather or particular news stories, wiU be overlooked by the system, no matter at what point in the deal process, they occur. Functional Components of the General FX Terminology Requirements are:

Chat Terminology - Common Deal Terms

Chat Terminology - Negative Terms

Chat Terminology - Unrecognized Terms

The interaction between components is: Chat Terminology - Common Deal Terms provides the Ust of terms and variables that are direcdy pertinent to an FX deal being completed and should be parsed by the system.

Chat Terminology - Negative Terms provides the list of negative terms that d e system should be aware of diat would indicate that preceding/proceeding terms/phrases are not pertinent to a deal in progress.

37743 1. T4F01I DOC Chat-Terminology - Unrecognized Terms describes how the system should treat terms/phrases it does not recognize within the chat conversation.

Chat Terminology - Common Deal Terms

The system can recognize aU common phrases and terms used within a conversation that are pertinent to the completion of the deal. Specific terms within the conversation provide values for the variables that are necessary for a deal to be concluded. The system should be able to pick up these terms and to deUver the data to the corresponding fields within the deal stack.

Dealers use a variety of different ways/shortcuts to communicate the same thing within a conversation. The system can pick up on market conventions in relation to the key variables required for the deal stack.

As part of a request for quote, the system permits the user to enter a single ISO currency code 'CurrX' or its pseudonym to represent the currency pair USD/CurrX. For example:

CHF = USD/CHF

NZD = NZD/USD

GBP = GBP/USD

Cable = GBP/USD Peso = USD/MXP

The system permits d e user to enter a complete currency pair, i.e. reference to bod currencies, in the foUowing formats:

Currency 1 /currency2

Currency 1 Currency2 Currency lCurrency2

Currency 1 -Currency2

37743 v1, T4F01' DOC The system permits the user to specify an amount with a label to denote magnitude. For example:

10 mio = 10 miUion

500k = 500 thousand lbio = 1 BiUion

If the user specifies an amount without a label that denotes the magnitude, the system shaU inteφret the amount as being expressed in millions. For example:

10 = 10 miUion

CHF in 20 = USD/CHF for 20 miUion USD

GBP in 500k = GBP/USD for 500,000 GBP

The system permits the user to specify a two-way quote in any of the foUowing formats: bid quote/offer quote bid quote-offer quote bid quote offer quote bid quote* offer quote The user may specify a one-way bid quote in any of the foUowing formats:

Bid quote/- buy at [Bid quote] Bid at [Bid quote]

The user may specify a one-way offer quote in any of the following formats:

-/Offer quote sell at [Offer quote]

Offer at [Offer quote]

37743 v1. T4F01I.DOC The user may confirm a deal with the foUowing terms: ok done confirmed conf agreed agree The system permits the user to cancel a deal using any of the foUowing terms:

Cancel

Cane

Nothing

Nothing

Nthing

/ /

Nthng _NT

No Thanks

No thks

If the user cancels the deal in the conversation, d e system automaticaUy cancels d e appropriate deal entry in the Deal Stack. Chat Terminology - Negative Terms

The system takes into account that dealers on the system may discuss previously completed deals via the chat panel, but are not attempting to complete a deal. The system will recognize terms diat indicate diat the current conversation in which the dealers are engaged, does not pertain to a deal.

37743 1, T4F01ⁱ DOC The system does not attempt to parse any variables from the chat panel if the variables are preceded by the foUowing phrases within the same line of input/sentence, that indicate a past event (substitute any characters for ...) : did [deal variables] dealt [deal variables] completed [deal variables] made [deal variables]

quoted [ deal variables ] bought [deal variables]

sold [deal variables]

Some examples of the incidence of the above terms are as foUows:

We did 10 mio EUR ystd - The dealer is referring to a historical deal

We dealt cable in 10 last week - The dealer is referring to a historical deal

I completed the stg deal - The dealer is referring to a historical deal

He made me stg at 67/70 B The dealer is referring to a historical quote

I have done a deal for Swiss in 20 - The dealer is referring to a historical deal

He quoted 67/70 - The dealer is referring to a historical quote

If the user has input phrases/ terms pertaining to a past event the system continues its monitoring process of the chat panel immediately after d e input has been sent to the counterparty. For example: We did Eur yesterday

37743 1. T4F01I DOC I want 20 CHF today - the dealer first refers to a historical deal, which is ignored by the system based on the rules above. The second sentence is an RFQfor USD/CHF, 20 million USD that will be parsed by the system. I did not quote you CHF at 50/57

Its 60/57 - The dealer first refers to a historical quote (or a mistaken quote in this case) which is ignored by the system based on the rules above. The second sentence is a quote for USD/CHF that will be parsed by the system. Chat Terminology - Unrecognised Terms

The chat panel is used for a variety of casual conversations that have no bearing on the dealing process. The system will ignore aU terms that do not conform to requirements of the Deal Use Case. FX SPOT PARSING The FX Spot module provides the user with the abiUty to deal the FX

Spot instrument type via the Chat panel on the EBS Trader platform.

The Functional Components of the FX Spot Parsing Requirements are the Deal Use Case and the Chat Terminology - Deal Terms. The Deal Use Case describes the process of completing a deal and enables the system to actively 'watch' for particular terms/phrases it is expecting to see within a conversation that are pertinent to an actual deal. Chat Terminology - Deal Terms provides the Ust of terms and variables that are direcdy pertinent to a deal being completed and should be parsed by the system.

Deal Use Case In order to complete an FX spot deal, the foUowing must take place:

An FX Spot request for quote is sent by a taker to his maker(s).

In response, the maker can either: provide a two way quote (bid and offer) in response to the RFQ - d is is only if an amount was indicated in the

37743 V1. T4F01! DOC RFQ; provide a one way quote (bid or offer) in response to the RFQ - this is only if an amount as indicated in the RFQ; provide a quote for a particular amount in response to the RFQ; or indicate that he does not want to supply a quote, so no deal takes place. The taker receives a quote. In response he can either: indicate he wants to buy and confirm the deal; indicate he wants to seU and confirm the deal; or cancel the deal if the taker does not like the quote.

The deal is now complete.

The system recognizes the stage at which an FX Spot deal is at within the dealing process. The system watches for particular phrases pertinent to the particular stage of the deal process. If no deal is currendy in progress within a chat panel, the system monitors the chat panel for indications of a request for quote. In particular, the system watches for the foUowing terms that indicate a request for quote has been initiated within a chat panel conversation: An indication of the instrument type (FX Spot)

An indication of a currency pair

An indication of an amount

An indication of the currency of the amount

A request for quote includes at least an indication of the currency pair. Some examples are as foUows: hihi CHF pis - The taker is requesting a quote for USD/CHF hi CHF in 10 pis - The taker is requesting a quote for USD/CHF for 10 million USD

Hihi SPOT STG in 10 pis - The taker is requesting a quote for GBP/USD for 10 million GBP

37743 V1. T4F01I DOC Hi frd GBP/EUR pis - the taker is requesting a quote for GBP/EUR

Welly for 20 pis - the taker is requesting a quote for NZD/USDfor 20 million NZD

⁵ The system parses aU variables indicated as part of an RFQ from the conversation to the appropriate field in the Deal stack.

If the system has identified a request for quote, and it has been sent to the maker, the system monitors the chat panel for indications of a response to the request for quote. The system watches for the foUowing terms within the chat 0 panel that indicate a response to the request for quote: indication of a bid quote indication of an offer quote indication of a refusal to quote an indication of an amount ⁵ an indication of the currency of the amount

A response to a request for quote includes an amount if one is not suppUed in the RFQ, together with at least one of the foUowing: a bid quote an offer quote » OR a refusal to quote Some examples of a response to a request for quote:

1.4696/4700 - The maker provides a two way quote, bid/ offer

4696/4700 - The maker provides a two way quote bid/offer ⁵ 96/00 - the maker provides a two way quote bid/offer

37743 1. T4F01I DOC 56-60 up to 10 - the maker provides a two way quote, bid/offer, and an indication of amount, 10 million

I buy at 60 - the maker provides a one-way quote; the offer quote.

Nothing - Maker refuses to quote The system parses aU variables indicated by the maker in the response to a request for quote from the conversation to the appropriate fields in the Deal Stack. A refusal to quote is indicated if the maker inputs this intention into the chat panel or cancels the deal through the deal stack. If the maker refuses to quote, the system shaU conclude that the deal has been canceUed. If the maker refuses to quote, the system re-starts its monitoring process and looks for a request for quote within the conversation. The system ensures that the foUowing variables have been parsed from the conversation to the deal stack prior to permit the taker to indicate his intention to buy or seU:

The currency pair The amount

/

The currency of the amount

A bid and/or an offer

If the above variables have not aU been successfuUy parsed to the deal stack, the system requests that the maker input the missing variables prior to indicating his intention to send. For example, the system could raise an alarm. If the system has identified a response to a request for quote, and the response has been sent to the taker, the system monitors the chat panel for a response to the quote.

The system watches for the following terms within the chat panel diat indicate a response to the quote: an indication to buy at the offer price an indication to sell at the bid price

37743 v1; T4F01I.DOC an indication of a canceUation of the deal A response to a quote includes at least one of the foUowing: an indication to buy at the offer price an indication to seU at the bid price an indication of a canceUation of the deal

Some examples of a response to quote are:

Ok, I buy - the taker is happy with quote and agrees to buy at offer price

Ok, mine in 10 - the taker is happy with quote and agrees to buy at offer price for an amount ø/TO million, the amount "10" is ignored by the system, the whole available amount is bought

Yours - the taker is happy with quote and agrees to sell at the bid price

Ok I seU - the taker agrees to sell.

Nothing thks - the taker does not like the quote and does not wish to deal.

A canceUation of the deal indicated if the taker inputs his intention to cancel (he does not like the price) or the taker cancels the deal within the deal stack. If the taker cancels the deal, the system shall re-start its monitoring process and look for a request for quote within the conversation. If the system has identified a response to quote the system confirms the deal in the deal stack and re-starts its monitoring process and look for a request for quote within the conversation.

Chat Terminology B Deal Terms

The system can recognize all phrases and terms used within a conversation d at are pertinent to the completion of the deal.

37743 v1; T4F01I.DOC Specific terms within the conversation provide values for the variables that are necessary for a deal to be concluded. The system is able to pick up these terms and to deUver the data to the corresponding fields within the deal stack.

Dealers use a variety of different ways/shortcuts to communicate the same thing within a conversation. The system can pick up on market conventions in relation to the key variables required for the deal stack.

As part of a request for quote, the system permits the user to enter the term "spot" to indicate that the deal is a FX Spot deal. For example:

SPOT Swiss please = FX Spot deal for USD/CHF

As part of the request for quote, the system permits the user to specify a currency pair with or without an amount, to indicate that the deal is a FX Spot deal. For example:

Stg pis = FX Spot deal for GBP/USD

EUR pis = FX Spot deal for EUR/USD Eur in 10 pis = FX Spot deal for EUR/USD, amount is 10 miUion

EUR

CHF for 20 = FX Spot deal for USD/CHF, amount is 20 miUion USD

The system permits the user to specify an amount of currency to buy or sell. For example:

10 mio GBP against USD pis = USD/GBP, 10 miUion GBP

Eur pis, 10 milUon US = EUR/USD, 10 miUion USD

If the user does not specifically indicate the currency of the amount, die system shaU interpret the amount to represent d e amount in the base currency of die currency pair. For example: eur in 10 pis = EUR/USD 10 mUlion EUR

37743 v1 T4F01^I DOC chf for 10 = USD/CHF, 10 miUion USD

50 mio WeUy pis = NZD/USD, 50 miUion NZD

The system permits the user to enter the big figure only once as part of the first part of the quote, be it bid or offer. For example: 1.4567/70 => bid quote = 1.4567, offer quote = 1.4570

121.43/53 => bid quote = 121.43, offer quote = 121.43

The system permits the user to enter a quote without the big figure, i.e. only the pips of the quote. For example:

67/70 => GBP/USD quote, bid quote = 1.4567, offer quote = 1.4570

43/53 => GBP/JPY quote, bid quote = 121.43, offer quote = 121.53

The system warns the user if there is no big figure avaUable. The system permits the user to indicate his preference to buy the stated amount of currency by using the foUowing terms:

Buy

Mine

M

B Take

T

At [Offer Price]

[Offer Price]

The system permits the user to indicate his preference to seU die stated amount of currency by using the foUowing terms:

37743 v1 T4F01I DOC seU Yours

give

G

At [Bid Price]

[Bid Price]

The system permits the taker to indicate his intention to buy or seU. For example:

I seU CHF = User seUs previously indicated amount of CHF

Y = User seUs previously indicated amount in previously indicated currency

FX OUTRIGHTS The parsing requirements for FX outrights are simUar to those described for FX Spot.

The foUowing is a description of the process foUowed to complete an FX Outright deal

An FX Outright request for quote is sent by a taker to his maker(s). In response, the maker can either: provide a two way quote (bid and offer) in response to the RFQ - this is only if an amount was indicated in the RFQ; provide a one way quote (bid or offer) in response to die RFQ - this is only if an amount was indicated in the RFQ; provide a quote for a particular amount in response to die RFQ; or indicate that he does not want to supply a quote, no deal takes place.

37743 1. T4F01I.DOC The taker receives a quote. In response he can either: indicate he wants to buy and confirms the deal; indicate he wants to seU and confirms the deal; cancel the deal B the taker does not like the quote.

The deal is now complete. The system recognizes the stage at which a deal is at within the dealing process and watches for particular phrases pertinent to the particular stage of the deal process. If no deal is currendy in progress within a chat panel, the system monitors the chat panel for indications of a request for quote. The foUowing terms that indicate a request for quote has been initiated within a chat panel conversation are watched for:

An indication of the instrument type (FX Outright)

An indication of a currency pair

An indication of an amount

An indication of the currency of the amount An indication of a duration/forward date I

A request for quote should include at least the foUowing:

An indication of the currency pair

An indication of the instrument type

An indication of a duration/forward date

Some examples of a request for quote: hihi Outrite 3 m CHF pis - The taker is requesting a quote for an FX Outright for USD/CHF maturing in 3 months *^■ hi Out 10 mio CHF 6m pis - The taker is requesting a quote for an FX Outright in USD/CHF for 10 million USD maturing in 6 months

37743 V1. T4F01I DOC Hihi o/r cable in 10 maturity 5 Jan 01 pis - The taker is requesting a quote for an FX Outright in GBP/USD for 10 million GBP maturing on the 5^th of anuary 2001

Hi frd Outrite GBP/EUR lyr pis - the taker is requesting a quote 5 for an FX Outright in GBP/EUR maturing in 1 years time

The system parses aU variables indicated as part of an RFQ from the conversation to the appropriate field in the Deal stack. If the system has identified a request for quote, and the RFQ has been sent to the maker, it monitors the chat panel for indications of a response to the request for quote. ⁰ The foUowing terms within the chat panel that indicate a response to the request for quote are watched for: indication of a bid quote indication of an offer quote indication of a refusal to quote ⁵ an indication of an amount

A response to a request for quote includes an amount (if not suppUed in the RFQ) together with at least one of the foUowing: a bid quote an offer quote ° OR a refusal to quote Some examples of a response to a request for quote:

1.4301/08 - The maker provides a two way quote, bid/offer

4696/4700 - The maker provides a two way quote bid/offer ⁵ 0.87563-62 - the maker provides a two way quote bid/offer

37743 1. T4F01I DOC [106.70 90 Spot 107.00 03 - the maker provides a two way quote, bid/offer, and the spot split, 107.00/107.03 ]

Nothing - Maker refuses to quote

AU variables indicated by the maker in the response to a request for quote are parsed, from the conversation to the appropriate fields in the Deal Stack. A refusal to quote is indicated if the maker inputs this intention into the chat panel or the maker cancels the deal in the deal stack.

If the maker refuses to quote, the system concludes that the deal has been canceUed, and the monitoring process is restarted, looking for a request for quote within the conversation.

The system ensures that the foUowing variables have been parsed from the conversation to the deal stack prior to permit the taker to indicate his intention to buy or seU:

An indication of a duration/forward date The currency pair

The amount

The currency of the amount

A bid and/or an offer

If the above variables have not aU been successfuUy parsed to the deal stack, the system requests that the maker input the missing variables prior to indicating his intention to send. If the system has identified a response to a request for quote, and the response has been sent to the taker, it monitors d e chat panel for a response to die quote. The following terms are watched for witiiin the chat panel that indicate a response to the quote: an indication to buy an indication to sell

37743 V1. T4F01! DOC an indication of a canceUation of the deal

A response to a quote includes at least one of the foUowing: an indication to buy an indication to seU an indication of a canceUation of the deal

Some examples of a response to quote:

Ok, I buy - the taker is happy with quote and agrees to buy at offer price

Nothing thks. - the taker does not like the quote and does not wish to deal

A canceUation of the deal is indicated if the taker inputs his intention to cancel (he does not like the price) or the taker cancels the deal in the deal stack. If the taker cancels the deal, the system re-starts its monitoring process and looks for a request for quote within the conversation. If the system has identified a response to quote the system confirms the deal in the deal stack and re-starts its monitoring process looking for a request for quote within the conversation.

As part of a request for quote, the system requires the user to enter one of the foUowing terms to indicate that the deal is a FX Outright deal:

Outright Outrite

Out

O/r

As part of the request for quote, the system requires the user to specify a currency pair. For example: Outright 6m Stg pis = FX Outright 6 months for GBP/USD

37743 V1. T4F01^I DOC Out 3m EUR pis = FX Outright, 3 months for EUR/USD

O/r 23/01 Eur in 10 pis = FX Outright for EUR/USD, amount is 10 miUion EUR, maturity is 23/01/01

Outrite 9mth CHF for 20 = FX Outright, 9 months for USD/CHF, amount is 20 miUion USD

The user is permitted to specify an amount of currency to buy or seU, for example:

Outrite 10 mio GBP against USD 6m pis = GBP/USD, 10 miUion GBP, 6 months duration

Outrite Eur pis, 10 miUion US 6m = EUR/USD, 10 miUion USD, 6 months duration

If the user does not specificaUy indicate the currency of the amount, the system interprets the amount to represent the amount in the base currency of the currency pair, for example: Out eur lOmio 3m pis = EUR/USD 10 miUion EUR, 3 months

Out chf for 10 months, 20 mio = USD/CHF, 10 months, 20 miUion USD

50 mio WeUy out pis, 3m = NZD/USD, 50 miUion NZD, 3 months The system requires the user to express a duration for the deal as part of the request for quote.

The system shaU permit the user to express a maturity date (the terms "value date" or "setdement date" can be used) in lieu of a duration as part of the request for quote. The maker may enter the forward bid rate directly to represent the bid quote for an FX Outright. The maker may enter the forward offer rate direcdy to represent die offer quote for an FX Outright. The user may

37743 VI; T4F01I.DOC enter the big figure only once as part of the first part of the quote, be it bid or offer. For example:

1.4567/70 => bid quote = 1.4567, offer quote = 1.4570

121.43/53 => bid quote = 121.43, offer quote = 121.43 The user may enter a quote without the big figure, i.e. only the pips of the quote. For example:

67/70 => GBP/USD quote, bid quote = 1.4567, offer quote = 1.4570

43/53 => GBP/JPY quote, bid quote = 121.43, offer quote = 121.53

The user is warned by the system if there is no big figure avaUable. The user may indicate his preference to buy the stated amount of currency at the forward date by using the foUowing terms:

Buy Mine

M

B

Take

T At [Offer Price]

[Offer Price]

The user can indicate his preference to seU the stated amount of currency at the forward date by usmg the following terms:

Sell Yours

37743 v1. T4F01l DOC Y S Give

At [Bid Price]

[Bid Price]

The system permits the taker to indicate his intention to buy or seU. For example:

I seU CHF = User seUs previously indicated amount of CHF

Y = User seUs previously indicated amount in previously indicated currency.

FX FORWARDS PARSING

Deal Use Case

The foUowing is a description of the process foUowed to complete an FX Forward deal:

An FX Forward request for quote is sent by a taker to his maker(s) In response, the maker can either: provide a two way quote in response to the RFQ - this is only if an amount was indicated in the RFQ; provide a one way quote in response to the RFQ - this is only if an amount was mdicated in the RFQ; provide a quote for a particular amount in response to the RFQ; or indicate that he does not want to supply a quote, in which case no deal takes place.

37743 v1; T4F011.DOC The taker (taker of the deal) receives a quote. In response he can either: indicate he wants to seU at near date/buy at far date and confirms the deal; indicate he wants to buy at near date/seU at far date and confirms the deal; or cancel the deal B the taker does not like the quote. The maker (maker of the deal) receives notification of the taker's intent.

In response he must supply a Spot Rate.

The taker receives the Spot rate. In response he can either: confirm the deal; or query the Spot Rate.

If the Taker queries the Spot rate, the maker receives notification of the query. In response he can either: supply a new Spot Rate or cancel the deal if the Maker is not happy with any other rate.

The taker receives the new Spot rate. In response he can either: confirm the deal; query the Spot Rate again; or cancel the deal if the Taker is not happy that he wiU ever get a satisfactory (only avaUable if queried once already) . Once the Taker confirms the Deal it is now complete.

The system recognizes the stage at which a deal is at within the dealing process, and watches for particular phrases pertinent to the particular stage of the deal process. If no deal is currendy in progress within a chat panel, the system monitors the chat panel for indications of a request for quote. The system watches for the foUowing terms that indicate a request for quote has been initiated within a chat panel conversation:

An indication of the instrument type (FX Forward)

An indication of a currency pair

An indication of an amount for the near period An indication of an amount for the far period

An indication of die currency of the amounts

37743v1; T4F01I DOC An indication of a duration/forward date for value date

An indication of duration/forward date for maturity date A request for quote should include at least the foUowing: an indication of the currency pair An indication of the instrument type

An indication of a duration/forward date

Some examples of a request for quote are as foUows: hihi Fwd 3m CHF pis - The taker is requesting a quote for an FX Forward for USD/CHF Value date is Spot date maturing in 3 months hi Swap 10 mio CHF s/n pis - The taker is requesting a quote for an FX Forward in USD/CHF for 10 million USD spot next (Value date is Spot date, maturity date is day after spot date)

Hihi Forward cable in 10 maturity 5 Jan 01 pis - The taker is requesting a quote for an FX Forward in GBP/USD for 10 million GBP value on Spot date maturing on the 5^th of fanuary 2001

Hi frd Fwd-Fwd GBP/EUR 6 months v lyr pis - the taker is requesting a quote for an FX Forward in GBP/EUR value date in 6 months maturing in 1 years time

Hi swp CHF, 6 mths lOmio at near end 10,500,000 at far - the taker is requesting a quote for a USD/CHF FX Forward, 10 million USD exchanged at spot date and 10,500,000 USD at maturity date (6 months) The system parses all variables indicated as part of an RFQ from the conversation to the appropriate field in the Deal stack. If the system has

37743 V1 T4F01I DOC identified a request for quote, and the RFQ has been sent to the maker, it monitors the chat panel for indications of a response to the request for quote. The system watches for the foUowing terms within the chat panel that indicate a response to the request for quote:

Indication of a spot bid quote

Indication of a spot offer quote

Indication of a forward quote for value date indication of a refusal to quote an indication of an amount

A response to a request for quote includes an amount (if not suppUed in the RFQ) together with at least one of the foUowing: a bid quote an offer quote

OR a refusal to quote

Some examples of a response to a request for quote:

60/56 - The maker provides a two way quote, bid/offer

4696/4700 - The maker provides a two way quote bid/offer

38/30 - the maker provides a two way quote bid/offer 56-60 upto 10 - the maker provides a two way quote, bid/offer, and an indication of amount, 10 million, the "upto " is ignored by the system.

Notiiing - Maker refuses to quote

The system parses all variables indicated by the maker in the response to a request for quote, from die conversation to d e appropriate fields in d e Deal

37743 V1. T4F01' DOC Stack. A refusal to quote is indicated if the maker inputs this intention into the chat panel or the maker cancels the deal in the deal stack. If the maker refuses to quote, the system concludes that the deal has been canceUed. If the maker refuses to quote, the system re-starts its monitoring process and look for a request for quote within the conversation. The system ensures that the foUowing variables have been parsed from the conversation to the deal stack prior to permitting the taker to indicate his intention to buy or seU:

An indication of a duration/forward date

The currency pair A Near amount

A Far amount

The currency of the amount

A bid and/or an offer

If the above variables have not all been successfuUy parsed to the deal stack, the system requests that d e maker input the missing variables prior to indicating his intention to send. If the system has identified a response to a request for quote, and the response has been sent to the taker, the system monitors the chat panel for a response to the quote.

The system watches for the foUowing terms within the chat panel that indicate a response to the quote: an mdication to buy/seU (base currency) at the LHS (Left Hand Side) price an indication to seU/buy (base currency) at the RHS (Right Hand Side) price an indication to buy/seU (foreign currency) at the RHS price an indication to sell/buy (foreign currency) at d e LHS price

37743 V1. T4F01 ! DOC an indication of a canceUation of the deal A response to a quote shaU include at least one of the foUowing: an indication to buy/seU an indication to seU/buy

an indication of a canceUation of the deal

Some examples of a response to quote:

Ok, I buy/seU - the taker is happy with quote and agrees to buy local currency on spot date and sell local currency at maturity at the RHS price Ok, I s/b - the taker is happy with quote and agrees to sell local currency on spot date and buy local currency at maturity at the LHS price

Nothing thks. - the taker does not like the quote and does not wish to deal A canceUation of the deal is indicated if the taker inputs his intention to cancel (he does not like the price) or the taker cancels the deal in the deal stack. If the taker cancels the deal, the system re-starts its monitoring process and looks for a request for quote within the conversation. If the system has identified a response to quote, and the response to quote has been sent to the maker, the system monitors the chat panel for provision of Spot Rate. The system watches for the foUowing terms within the chat panel that indicate a provision of Spot Rate:

a provision of Spot Rate an indication of a cancellation of the deal (only if Spot rate has already been queried

Some examples of a provision of Spot Rate:

37743 v1 T4F01I DOC 1.4350 B the maker is willing to use a Spot Rate of 1.435

If the system has identified a provision of spot rate, and the rate has been sent to the taker, the system shaU monitor the chat panel for response to the Spot Rate. The system watches for the foUowing terms within the chat panel that indicate a response to the Spot Rate: an indication of deal confirmation an indication of querying the Spot rate an indication of a canceUation of the deal (only if at least one rate has previously been provided)

Some examples of a querying the Spot rate are as foUows: check spot - terse minimum query check spot seems high - qualified query

The system shall return the entire Une that includes the querying of the Spot rate and use it as the text to a Spot Rate Query warning to the maker:

Some examples of a Deal Confirmation are:

Ok - confirmation, deal is complete

Confirm - confirmation, deal is complete

Done B Confirmation, deal is complete If the maker confirms the deal within the conversation, the system confirms the related deal entry within the Deal Stack. A cancellation of the deal is indicated if the maker inputs his intention to cancel (he does not like something) or the maker cancels the deal in the deal stack. If the maker or taker cancels the deal, the system re-starts its monitoring process and look for a request for quote within the conversation. Once the taker has confirmed the deal, die

37743 V1. T4F01^I DOC system confirms the deal in the deal stack and re-starts its monitoring process and looks for a request for quote within the conversation.

As part of a request for quote, the system requires the user to enter one of the foUowing terms to indicate that the deal is a FX Forward deal. Swap

Swp

Fwd

Forward

Fwd-fwd Fwd fwd

Fwdfwd

Fwd/fwd

As part of the request for quote, the system requires the user to specify a currency pair. For example: Swap 6m Stg pis = FX Forward 6 months for GBP/USD

Swp 3m EUR pis = FX Forward, 3 months for EUR/USD

Fwd 23/01 Eur in 10 pis = FX Forward for EUR/USD, amount is 10 miUion EUR, maturity is 23/01/01

Forward 9mth CHF for 20 = FX Forward, 9 months for USD/CHF, amount is 20 miUion USD

The system permits the user to specify an amount of currency to buy or sell, for example:

Swp 10 mio GBP against USD 6m pis = GBP/USD, 10 million GBP, 6 months duration

37743 v1 T4F01I DOC Swap Eur pis, 10 miUion US 6m = EUR/USD, 10 miUion USD, 6 months duration

If the user does not specificaUy indicate the currency of the amount, the system inteφrets the amount to represent the amount in the base currency of the currency pair. For example:

Out eur lOmio 3m pis = EUR/USD 10 miUion EUR, 3 months

Out chf for 10 months, 20 mio = USD/CHF, 10 months, 20 miUion USD

50 mio WeUy out pis, 3m = NZD/USD, 50 miUion NZD, 3 months

The system permits the user to enter a second amount to represent the amount far end (maturity date) of the FX Forward. The system permits the user to indicate the amount at the far end of the FX Forward in the foUowing formats:

[Amount] at far end/leg spUt amount (at far end/leg) [Amount]

[Amount] spUt amount (at far end/leg)

Cock amount (at far end/leg) [Amount]

[Amount] cock amount (at far end/leg)

The system permits the user to express a duration for the deal as part of d e request for quote, and permits the user to express a maturity date in Ueu of a duration as part of the request for quote. The user can express a period to represent the value date, and can express a date to represent the value date in lieu of a period. The user may enter points to represent the bid quote for an FX Forward Deal and to represent the offer quote for an FX Forward Deal. If the user enters both a bid and offer quote in points, the system interprets and parses the first value (on the left) of the two quotes as the bid quote, and interprets and parses the second value (on the right) of d e two quotes as the offer quote. In

37743 v1; T4F01I.DOC this case, and the bid quote is higher than the offer quote and the value date is prior to spot date (e.g. tomorrow), the system adds the bid quote points (on the left) to the spot bid rate to calculate the forward bid rate. This rate represents the rate at which you buy base currency on the first leg (near date) of the FX Forward. In this situation, the forward rate for the currency pair is less than then the near rate. If, the bid quote is higher than the offer quote and the value date is prior to spot date (e.g. tomorrow), the system adds the offer quote points (on the right) to the spot offer rate to calculate the forward offer rate. This rate represents the rate at which you seU base currency on the first leg (near date) of the FX Forward. In this situation, the forward rate for the currency pair is less than then the near rate. If the bid quote is higher than the offer quote and the maturity date is after the spot date (e.g. 1 week), the system subtracts the bid quote points (on the left) from the spot bid rate to calculate the forward bid rate. This rate represents the rate at which you seU base currency on the second leg (far date) of the FX Forward. In this situation, the forward rate for the currency pair is less than then the near rate. If the bid quote is higher than the offer quote and the maturity date is prior to spot date (e.g. tomorrow), the system subtracts the offer quote points (on the right) to the spot offer rate to calculate the forward offer rate. This rate wiU represent the rate at which you buy base currency on the second leg (far date) of the FX Forward. In this situation, the forward rate for the currency pair is less than then the near rate.

If the bid quote is lower than the offer quote and the value date is prior to spot date (e.g. tomorrow), the system shall subtract the bid quote points (on the left) from the spot bid rate to calculate the forward bid rate. This rate represents the rate at which you buy base currency on the first leg (near date) of the FX Forward. In this situation, die forward rate for d e currency pair is more d an then the near rate.

If the bid quote is lower than die offer quote and d e value date is prior to spot date (e.g. tomorrow), the system subtracts the offer quote points (on the

37743 v1 ; T4F01I.DOC right) from the spot offer rate to calculate the forward offer rate. This rate represents the rate at which you seU base currency on the first leg (near date) of the FX Forward. In this situation, the forward rate for the currency pair is more than then the near rate. If the bid quote is lower than the offer quote and the maturity date is after the spot date (e.g. 1 week), the system adds the bid quote points (on the left) to the spot bid rate to calculate the forward bid rate. This rate represents the rate at which you seU base currency on the second leg (far date) of the FX Forward. In this situation, the forward rate for the currency pair is more than then the near rate.

If the bid quote is higher than the offer quote and the maturity date is prior to spot date (e.g. tomorrow), the system adds the offer quote points (on the right) to the spot offer rate to calculate the forward offer rate. This rate represents the rate at which you buy base currency on the second leg (far date) of the FX Forward. In this situation, the forward rate for the currency pair is more than then the near rate.

The user can enter a spot bid quote in association with the FX Forward to represent the spot bid rate and can enter a spot offer quote in association with the FX Forward to represent the spot offer rate. If the user has not entered a spot bid quote in association with the FX Forward, the system uses the spot market mid rate of the particular currency pair to represent the spot bid rate. If the user has not entered a spot bid quote in association with the FX Forward, the system uses the spot market mid rate of the particular currency pair to represent the spot offer rate. If neid er of die two legs of d e swap fall on Spot date, the system permits d e user to enter a value date bid quote in association with d e FX Forward and to enter a value date offer quote in association with d e FX Forward.

37743 V1. T4F01! DOC The user can enter the forward bid or offer rate direcdy to represent the bid quote for an FX Forward.

If the user is quoting using the forward rates, the system shaU inteφret the first of the rates (on the left) as the bid quote and the second of the rates (on the right) as the offer quote.

The user can indicate his preference to Buy the stated amount of currency at the near date and seU the stated amount of currency at the far date by using the foUowing terms: buy/seU buy seU b/s b s

I buy [amount] [currency] on [value date]

The user can indicate his preference to seU the stated amount of currency at the near date and buy the stated amount of currency at the far date, by using the foUowing terms: seU/buy

SeU buy seU&buy s/b s b

I sell [amount] [currency] on [value date]

The user can indicate his intention to buy/seU or seU/buy. For example:

I seU/buy CHF = User sells/buys previously indicated amount of CHF

37743 v1; T4F01I.DOC S/b = User seUs/buys previously indicated amount in previously indicated currency

In the case of an FX Forward deal where the taker is selling/buying, the system permits the maker to confirm the deal with the foUowing additional terms: buy/seU buy seU buy&seU b/s b s

In the case of an FX Forward deal where the maker is supplying a Spot Rate, the system permits the maker to supply the rate without the big figure. The system warns the user if there is no market rate avaUable from which to derive the big figure. It wiU be appreciated from the above that the invention provides a highly advantageous interface to the user in which the deal stack is presented to the user in a manner which is easy to inteφret by the dealer who has to assimilate a lot of information, often in a very short space of time. By separating out information which is common to aU instruments from information specific to a deal in any particular instrument, it is possible to present a deal Ust which is simple and easy to view. However, as the deal detaU panel includes information related to a selected deal, the trader is never left without essential information relating to the deal on which he is working.

When trading on the system described, the trader has the choice of entering deal information dirough conversational chat which is parsed by the system or direcdy preferably us g buttons on the user interface or keyboard driven menus. The trader can switch between die two during the progress of a

37743 V1. T4F01I DOC !>^"• H.., I! ..^■ ιu» ,„„. K...lf |C .. ft,_™ '"^•S-I I KT- .JL

deal. This flexibiUty is possible as the deal related information input, whether it is parsed conversation or direct input only conveys to the deal stack that there has been a change of deal status. AU other deal related activities are performed by the deal stack and include sending necessary messages to the rest of the system, for example to other trader terminal or to back office systems to produce deal tickets. The deal stack is also responsible for changing the functionaUty of the buttons on the button bar and the keyboard menus which are aU deal status dependent.

It wUl be noted from the above that the activity of the parser in the deal process is Umited to detecting changes in deal status. This enables the system to be more flexible. This contrasts with prior art systems which operate by a rigid exchange of conversational messages in which only one trader can "own" the cursor to a conversation at any one time. In the system described any party to a deal can enter conversations into the system at any time. However, if the conversation does not include terms which the parser is pre-programmed to recognise a deal related in that deal status, the conversation wiU not affect the deal process. Thus, the conversation does not have to ping pong from one party to the other. At any stage in the deal making process, the last party to send a conversational message can send a further message. If this does not contain content relevant to the deal in its present status it wiU be ignored by the parser and wiU not affect the deal.

Many modifications to the system described are possible within the scope of the invention. In particular the invention is not Umited to any particular type of instruments, not to any type of trading system architecture beyond the Umitations of d e claims appended hereto.

37743 1, T4F01^l DOC

Claims (74)

1. A conversational dealing system for trading instruments between counteφarties, comprising: a pluraUty of trader terminals each having a user interface for inputting and displaying to a trader conversational messages including deal related information, the trader terminals communicating with each other via a communications network, the trader terminals each further comprising a parser for parsing said inputted conversational messages, said parser comprising: means for analyzing the conversational messages to detect a status of a deal, the deal having a pluraUty of possible statuses; means for analyzing the conversational messages to detect deal related information relevant to the detected status of the deal; and means for rettirning a parsed message comprising the deal status and the deal related information to the user interface.

2. A conversational dealing system according to claim 1, wherein the parser parses completed conversational messages provided from the user interface.

3. A conversational dealing system according to claim 1, wherein the parser includes means for monitoring aU conversational messages received from the user interface to identify a new deal regardless of the deal status of a current deal.

4. A conversational dealing system according to claim 3, wherein the user interface includes means for initiating a new conversation between counteφarties having at least one existing conversation when the new deal is identified.

5. A conversational dealing system according to claim 3, wherein die parser monitors the conversational messages to identify a request for a quote (RFQ).

37743 1. T4F01I OOC IT^' II™. i! ..- I1..J- ,.„-.!l u t B„„. ,.' IE-., '-ii" H..JI ii_.

6. A conversational dealing system according to claim 1, wherein the possible deal statuses include no deal pending, request for a quote, quote, and buy/seU.

7. A conversational dealing system according to claim 1, wherein said means for returning the parsed messages comprise means for returning a deal information structure to the user interface.

8. A conversational dealing system according to claim 1, wherein the user interface displays a parsed message received from the parser and includes means for accepting or declining the parsed message prior to a communication of the parsed message to a counteφarty.

9. A conversational dealing system according to claim 8, wherein the user interface further includes means for editing the parsed message prior to communication to a counteφarty.

10. A conversational dealing system according to claim 8, wherein the means for accepting or declining the parsed message comprises at least one button on the user interface display operable by a pointing device.

11. A conversational dealing system according to claim 9, wherein the means for editing the parsed message comprises at least one button on the user interface display operable by a pointing device.

12. A conversational dealing system according to claim 1, furd er comprising a deal server, d e deal server acting to check an acceptabiUty of the parsed message from a first couteφarty and to reject die parsed message wid out infoπriing another counterparty when the parsed message is unacceptable.

37743 v1. T4F01l DOC

13. A conversational dealing system according to claim 1, further comprising a chat server for handling non-deal related conversation, wherein a conversational message in which the parser does not detect any deal related information is sent to a destination trader via the chat server.

14. A conversational dealing system according to claim 1, wherein the parser is downloaded to the trader terminal when the trader terminal logs on to the conversational dealing system.

15. A conversational dealing system according to claim 14, wherein the parser is an applet.

16. A trader terminal for a conversational dealing system having a pluraUty of trader terminals communicating with each other via a communications network, the trader terminal comprising: a user interface for inputting and displaying to a trader conversational messages including deal related information; and a parser for parsing said inputted conversational messages; wherein said parser includes: means for analysing the conversational messages to detect a status of a deal, the deal having a plurality of possible statuses; means for analyzing the conversational messages to detect deal related information relevant to the detected status of the deal; and means for forming and returning to the user interface a parsed message comprising the deal status and the deal related information

17. A trader terminal according to claim 16, wherein the parser parses completed conversational messages provided from the user interface.

37743 v1 , T4F01^l DOC

18. A trader terminal according to claim 16, wherein the parser includes means for monitoring aU conversational messages received from the user interface to identify a new deal regardless of the deal status of a current deal.

19. A trader terminal according to claim 18, wherein the user interface includes means for initiating a new conversation between a counteφarties having at least one existing conversation when the new deal is identified.

20. A trader terminal according to claim 18, wherein the parser monitors the conversational messages to identify a request for a quote (RFQ).

21. A trader terminal according to claim 16, wherein the possible deal statuses include no deal pending, request for a quote, quote, and buy/seU.

22. A trader terminal according to claim 16, wherein said means for returning the parsed messages comprises means for returning a deal information structure to the user interface. /

23. A trader terminal according to claim 16, wherein the user interface displays a parsed message received from the parser and includes means for accepting or declining the parsed message prior to a communication of the parsed message to a counteφarty.

24. A trader terminal according to claim 23, wherein the user interface further includes means for editing the parsed message prior to communication to a counteφarty.

25. A trader terminal according to claim 23, wherein die means for accepting or declining the parsed message comprises at least one button on d e user interface display operable by a pointing device.

37743 vt: T4F01I.DOC

26. A trader terminal according to claim 24, wherein the means for editing the parsed message comprises at least one button on the user interface display operable by a pointing device.

27. A trader terminal according to claim 16, further comprising a deal server, the deal server acting to check an acceptabiUty of the parsed message from a first counteφarty and to reject the parsed message without informing another counteφarty when the parsed message is unacceptable.

28. A trader terminal according to claim 16, further comprising a chat server for handling non-deal related conversation, wherein a conversational message in which the parser does not detect any deal related information is sent to a destination trader via the chat server.

29. A trader terminal according to claim 16 wherein the parser is downloaded to the trader terminal when the trader terminal logs on to the trader terminal.

30. A trader terminal according to claim 29, wherein the parser is an applet.

31. A method of trading instruments between counteφarties in a conversational trading system in which the counteφarties communicate with each other via a communications network, the method comprising the steps of: inputting conversational messages including deal related information to the system; analyzing the conversational messages to detect a status of a deal, d e deal having a plurality of possible statuses; detecting deal related information relevant to die detected status of d e deal; and

37743 v1; T4F01I.DOC forming a parsed message including the deal status and at least part of the deal related information.

32. A method according to claim 31, wherein the conversational messages are provided from a user interface.

33. A method according to claim 31, further comprising parsing aU conversational messages received to identify a new deal regardless of the deal status of a current deal.

34. A method according to claim 33, further comprising initiating a new conversation between counteφarties having at least one existing conversation when the new deal is identified.

35. A method according to claim 33, further comprising monitoring the conversational messages to identify a request for a quote (RFQ).

36. A method according to claim 31, wherein the possible deal statuses include no deal pending, request for a quote, quote, and buy/seU.

37. A method according to claim 31, further comprising returning the deal related information to a user interface.

38. A method accordmg to claim 31, further comprising: displaying d e parsed message; and allowing one of the counterparties to accept or decline the parsed message prior to communicating d e parsed message to die odier counterparty.

39. A method according to claim 38, further comprismg allowing d e first party to edit the parsed message prior to communicating d e parsed message to the odier

37743 v1, T4F01t DOC counteφarty.

40. A method according to claim 31, comprising checking an acceptabUity of the parsed message from a first counteφarty; and rejecting the parsed message without informing another counteφarty when the parsed message is unacceptable.

41. A method according to claim 40, wherein the checking includes checking whether the counteφarties have sufficient bUateral credit for a proposed deal in the parsed message.

42. A method according to claim 40, wherein the checking includes checking that the deal related information conforms to business rules of the conversational dealing system.

43. A method according to claim 31, further comprising sending conversational messages with no deal related information to one of the counteφarties via a chat server.

44. A method according to claim 31 , wherein if, on detection of a change of the status, insufficient deal related information is detected relevant to the status, an error message is sent to a user interface.

45. A method according to claim 44, wherein the error message is displayed an area of the user interface dedicated to the deal in progress.

46. A method according to claim 45, wherein d e error message identifies missing deal related information.

37743 1 , T4F01 ' DOC

47. The conversational dealing system as recited in claim 3, wherein the deal related information of the current deal includes a first request for a quote; and the new deal is identified when the parser detects a second request for a quote.

48. The conversational dealing system as recited in claim 18, wherein the deal related information of the current deal includes a first request for a quote; and the new deal is identified when the parser detects a second request for a quote.

49. The conversational dealing system as recited in claim 33, wherein the deal related information of the current deal includes a first request for a quote; and the new deal is identified when the parser detects a second request for a quote.

50. The conversational dealing system as recited in claim 1, wherein the parser retains no record of the passed message.

51. The conversational dealing system as recited in claim 16, wherein the parser retains no record of the passed message.

52. The conversational dealing system as recited in claim 31 , wherein the parser retains no record of the passed message.

53. A conversational dealing system for trading instruments between counterparties, comprising: a pluraUty of trader terminals each having a user interface for inputting and displaying to a trader conversational messages including deal related information, d e trader terminals communicating with each odier via a communications network, wherein the conversational messages are displayed in a colour coded form to

37743 V1. T4F01! DOC indicate to the user an origin of the conversational messages.

54. A conversational deaUng system according to claim 53, wherein messages received from a counteφarty trader terminal are displayed in a first colour and messages generated at the user interface are displayed in a second colour.

55. A conversational dealing system according to claim 54, wherein each trader terminal includes a parser for parsing conversational messages input into the terminal to extract deal related information and generate parsed messages, wherein parsed messages are displayed in a third colour.

56. A conversational dealing system according to claim 54, wherein warning messages are displayed in a fourth colour.

57. A conversational dealing system according to claim 54, wherein error messages are displayed in a fourth colour.

58. A conversational deaUng system for trading instruments between traders, the system comprising: a pluraUty of trader terminals coupled together to form a network, each trader terminal including a user interface and a parser; wherein the user interface receives and displays conversational messages including deal related information related to deals between traders; and the parser analyzes the conversational messages to detect a status of a current deal between traders, the parser further analyzes the conversational messages to detect the deal related information related to die status of the current deal, and the parser produces a parsed message mcluding the status of d e current deal and at least part of the deal related information.

37743 v1 T4F01' DOC

59. The system as recited in claim 58, wherein the parser identifies a new deal regardless of the status of the current deal.

60. The system as recited in claim 59, wherein: the deal related information of the current deal includes a first request for a quote; and the new deal is identified when the parser detects a second request for a quote.

61. The system as recited in claim 59, wherein the user interface initiates a second conversation between traders having a first conversation when the new deal is identified.

62. The system as recited in claim 58, wherein the parser displays the parsed message to a trader and aUows the trader to edit the parsed message before sending the parsed message to another trader.

63. The system as recited in claim 58, wherein the parser displays the parsed message to a trader and allows the trader to decline to send the parsed message to another trader.

64. The system as recited in claim 58, further comprismg: a deal server coupled to the trader terminals, the deal server receives the parsed message from the parser and determines whether the parsed message is acceptable based on the current status of the current deal; and when die deal server determines d at the parsed message is not acceptable, d e deal server does not send the parsed message to another trader terminal.

37743 v1; T4F01I.DOC ιr n... i ..-- U' :iπr uji ιc„ „•■^■' ic Hl-ii-J sκ:„: .1,

65. The system as recited in claim 58, further comprising: a chat server coupled to the trader terminals; wherein the parser sends the conversational messages to the chat server when there is no deal related information in the conversational messages.

66. The system as recited in claim 58, wherein the parser is downloaded to a respective trader terminal when the respective trader terminal accesses the system.

67. The system as recited in claim 66, wherein the parser is an applet.

68. A computer readable storage medium mcluding computer executable software for performing the steps of: receiving conversation messages including deal related information; analyzing the conversational messages to detect a status of a deal between traders; analyzing the conversational messages to detect deal related information related to the status of the deal; and producing a parsed message including the deal status and at least part of die deal related information.

69. The storage medium as recited in claim 68, wherein the software further performs the step of identifying a new deal regardless of the status of the current deal.

70. The storage medium as recited in claim 69, wherein: the deal related information of the current deal includes a first request for a quote; and the new deal is identified upon detection of a second request for a quote.

71. The storage medium as recited in claim 69, wherein the software further

37743 v1: T4F011.DOC performs the step of initiating a second conversation between traders having a first conversation when the new deal is identified.

72. The storage medium as recited in claim 68, wherein the software further performs the steps of displaying the parsed message to a trader and aUowing the trader to edit the parsed message before sending the parsed message to another trader.

73. The storage medium as recited in claim 68, wherein the software further performs the steps of displaying the parsed message to a trader and aUowing the trader to decline to send the parsed message to another trader.

74. The storage medium as recited in claim 68, wherein the software further performs the steps of: determining whether the parsed message is acceptable based on the current status of the current deal; and when the parsed message is not acceptable, inhibiting the parsed message from being sent to another trader terminal.

37743 V1. T4F01I DOC