The European trading and technology landscape is increasingly littered with misnomers. As Icap’s results highlighted on Wednesday, interdealer brokers no longer simply function as brokers, much as exchange operators are no longer just platforms for buying and selling shares.

Icap on Wednesday reported operating profits of £144m for the six months ended September 30, down by 25% on the same period a year ago. But starker than the headline fall was the shift in the broker's profits across its three main business lines: voice broking, electronic broking, and post-trade services and information.