GSTPA and Omgeo (jointly owned by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation and Thomson Financial) have emerged as the two major global service providers facilitating straight-through-processing (STP) for the various post-trade functions that take place before actual settlement of a security trade can occur. The SFE says it will act as a 'concentrator' in the Australian markets, providing a link between individual market users and the service providers themselves.

Axion4, the vendor consortium which has built the GSTPA's Trade Flow Manager processing engine, and SFE have agreed to work together with the market to clarify the issues and processes required to make the TFM service available to the exchange's customers.

Martin Stockley-Smith, general manager of SFE Clearing, the clearing and settlement arm of SFE Corporation Limited, comments: "The adoption of STP and the facilitation of T+1 settlement standards will require extensive market co-operation."

"The acceptance of global standards and a firm commitment to implementing full 'interoperability' between the services on offer is of paramount importance," he adds.

SFE Clearing in conjunction with its Austraclear operations provides extensive settlement services including central counterparty, central securities depository and cash settlement facilities to the Australian and New Zealand debt markets.

Stocklet-Smith says the SFE is in the process of launching a series of market consultations designed to raise the market profile of the STP/T+1 challenge. These consultations will focus on user requirements and interoperability issues.