Liquidity Provider
A liquidity provider is a bank or institution that quotes prices to brokers, which route your orders to them for fills.
A liquidity provider is a bank or institution that quotes prices, and brokers route client orders to them for fills. The number and quality of providers determine a broker's spreads and slippage.
A liquidity provider is a financial institution, typically a large bank or specialist market maker, that continuously quotes buy and sell prices in a market. Retail brokers connect to liquidity providers to fill client orders: your order goes to the provider through the broker's STP or ECN setup. The number and quality of a broker's liquidity providers determine its spreads, depth and slippage. More providers usually mean better prices, because the broker can route to the best quote.
How It Works
- Banks and institutions quote continuously in size
- Brokers aggregate multiple providers for the best price
- Client orders flow to providers via STP or ECN
Trading Tips
More providers usually mean tighter spreads and deeper liquidity
A single-provider broker is more exposed to that provider's outages
Provider quality shows up in slippage during news - the invisible cost
Liquidity Provider Example
Say your STP broker streams EUR/USD at 0.1 pips during London. Behind that quote sit three bank pools competing to fill you. The broker adds 0.1 markup and keeps it. Your fill came from a bank you will never name.
How Traders Use Liquidity Provider
Judge brokers by depth behavior in news, not advertised spreads in calm. Real providers absorb size without requotes. If fills vanish exactly when volatility arrives, the provider chain is decoration.
Related Terms
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