Leading international bank Standard Chartered has adopted Cognotec's unique Market Rate Manager (MRM) application to boost electronic trading in its emerging markets currency business. Cognotec worked with Standard Chartered to tailor Market Rate Manager to the Bank's exacting requirements. Cognotec already supports the bank's foreign exchange e-commerce solution and provides connectivity to the FXall multi-bank portal. The adoption of Market Rate Manager significantly builds on the relationship
Cognotec’s Market Rate Manager, which has gone live in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, enables Standard Chartered to easily formulate a single, reliable market rate to feed into its multiple dealing channels. This ability to formulate accurate prices in volatile markets gives Standard Chartered a distinct edge in the marketplace, as the Bank is able to provide more extensive, competitive and reliable pricing to its global client base.
Part of Cognotec’s AutoDeal+ range of dealing tools, the Market Rate Manager solution takes rates from multiple sources and blends them to the bank's specific criteria, by geographical zone, currency pair and instrument. This price can be used throughout the enterprise. In Standard Chartered's case, the Bank's own proprietary forex dealing system, as well as its participation in multi-bank portals will benefit.
Standard Chartered has a unique geographic footprint across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The ability to offer its clients automated foreign exchange transactions in a wide range of emerging market currencies is an important part of the Bank’s business and one of its key strengths. With electronic trading volumes on the rise, it is imperative for the Bank to have the capability to provide automatic pricing, which in the emerging markets is complicated by the limited number of reliable rate feeds and often difficult trading conditions.
"Cognotec worked with us to make sure MRM is the best possible fit for our unique requirements. Using Market Rate Manager, we are now able to expand the number of currencies which we can provide executable electronic prices to clients even in volatile trading conditions, giving us an distinct advantage in the market place," commented Nick Beecroft, Global Head of FX and Options Trading at Standard Chartered.
"Standard Chartered provides an excellent example of how AutoDeal+ components can offer global institutions measurable competitive advantages in an increasingly globalized trading environment. By tailoring MRM to the bank's specific requirements, Standard Chartered gain maximum value from their investment through increased trading volumes, while their clients enjoy significant service improvements," said Howard Tolman, Director at Cognotec.