A new group called the Wholesale Markets Brokers' Association Americas Inc. has been launched to represent five North American "inter-dealer" brokers.

The five founding members are BGC Partners, CFI Group, ICAP, Tradition, and Tullett Prebon. Inter-dealer brokers are intermediaries between dealers in "over-the counter" markets, where securities are traded in formats other than futures or stock exchanges. The association will be represented by Patton Boggs in Washington.

According to Bloomberg News, inter-dealer brokers pair bids and offers between the world's largest banks in derivatives markets that have no public exchanges such as credit-default swaps and interest-rate products. Unlike traders and investment bankers, the brokers don't take on risk or devise trading strategies for their clients.