MAE Mercado Abierto Electrónico S.A.

M.A.E. - Mercado Abierto Electrónico S.A. - is the most important electronic securities and foreign-currency trading market in Argentina. It is based on a modular electronic platform running on specific IT supports, where both government and private fixed-income securities, foreign currencies and swaps are transacted, as well as currency and interest rate futures. In addition, this technological support is used to trade bills of exchange and bonds issued by Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA - Argentine Central Bank) and for the initial public offering of bonds issued by the National State. This electronic environment has been set up considering market demands. Thanks to the latest technological advances, the traditional auction market system that brought security market transaction practices into context has nowadays turned into a virtual trading field that lets brokers perform their electronic transactions from different geographic sites, with absolute security and effectiveness, through the use of dedicated software. As historical background, Mercado Abierto de Títulos Valores (the Open Securities Market) started its development in 1970, after the enactment of Law 17,811, and commenced to do business at mid-decade. However, it is only since 1980 when its operations expanded remarkably, reaching a broker count in excess of 450. Then, in line with worldwide trends at that time, when the first electronic tools were already in use as a natural means to carry out transactions, Comisión Nacional de Valores (CNV for its acronym in Spanish)(the National Securities Commission) started to anticipate the obligation to use IT means as a transaction tool. To such end, the creation of a corporation that would operate as an electronic field to carry out over-the-counter transactions was promoted, through the enactment of Resolution No. 121 in 1988.