ICE Bonds Reports Record Volumes in Corporate and Municipal Debt Trading

Intercontinental Exchange announced that its electronic bond trading platforms handled record activity in the first half of 2025.

Corporate bond trading on ICE Bonds totaled $120 billion in notional volume, a 20% increase compared to the same period last year. Municipal bond trading reached $109 billion, up 35% from 2024 levels. The company noted it was the fourth consecutive year of growth for both markets.

"We're pleased to see the strong activity in the first half of the year," said Peter Borstelmann, President of ICE Bonds. "This growth is in line with the progress we've made over the last few years expanding the functionality on our platforms and building out our institutional and wealth management network of customers."

The platform has also seen developments in trading protocols. ICE recently executed its first spread-based click-to-trade order, a hybrid method that brings together the spread-based pricing institutional investors prefer with the retail-oriented click-to-trade mechanism. ICE said the approach combines the precision of spread quotes with the accessibility of quick execution, allowing investors of all sizes to manage risk more efficiently.

Beyond corporate and municipal bonds, ICE Bonds supports trading in agencies, Treasuries, mortgage-backed securities, and certificates of deposit. The company recently launched a new request-for-quote protocol for mortgage-backed securities that complements its existing marketplace. Its trading protocols span auctions, sweeps, RFQ, and click-to-trade, underpinned by ICE's evaluated pricing and analytics.

According to ICE, the breadth of fixed income data, along with tools for anonymous and disclosed trading, is intended to support execution from small odd-lot trades to larger block transactions.