OTC is the description of the informal market. Lamont acknowledges the need for change because Besa's original business model no longer works.
Membership includes commercial and investment banks and securities brokers.
So the business model was all-inclusive, with no distinction between the market and the exchange and between membership and ownership. However, the composition of the bond market has changed rapidly since 1996. The arrival of interdealer brokers, who execute deals between dealers, brought the first big shift in membership composition. Then came the appointment of primary dealers to take from the Reserve Bank the responsibility of making a market in government stock. Patrick Birley, Safex CEO Primary dealers are obliged to buy and sell continuously, which means they can't go to ground when the trading environment looks threatening.