OREANDA-NEWS. November 21, 2012. BM&FBOVESPA hereby announces the start of the competitive bidding processes for the selection of up to three market makers for Banco Bradesco S.A. (BBDC4), Gerdau S.A. (GGBR4) and Banco do Brasil S.A. (BBAS3) equity options and for BOVESPA Index (IBOV) options.

The institutions that wish to take part in this process, including nonresidents, have until December 07, 2012 to submit their proposals, with the opening ceremony occurring on December 18, 2012, when the pre-selected institutions will be known. The winners will be announced on January 18, 2013, after the contract has been signed.

The winners for each of the objects of the competitive bidding process will be the three bids that indicate the lowest spreads, quoted in points in the case of BOVESPA Index options and Brazilian Reals in the case of the equity options.

The BM&FBOVESPA market maker program seeks to encourage trading in options, raising the liquidity of underlying assets in the BOVESPA segment other than Petrobras and Vale.