MTS

An overview of the pressure in the MTS market. This highlights the way that the European bond market is much more fragmented that the US version. This makes it less liquid. A Finnish government bond is not the same as a German government bond. However, MTS forces investment banks to treat them in a way that is more similar than would be the case if market forces prevailed.
Hedge funds seek access to eurozone bonds:

"Supporters of MTS say that these practices are needed to ensure there is plenty of liquidity in the eurozone’s fragmented government bond market. The rules are popular among smaller eurozone members.

However, critics say the rules have created a quasi-cartel, which has raised the cost of bond dealing and looks increasingly anachronistic given the growing use of electronic trading. "