CQS is a global asset management group with investment operations in London and Hong Kong. The group has $5 billion assets under management across a range of strategies.

Markit Trade Processing is an end-to-end service that offers buy-side and sell-side clients the ability to affirm their OTC derivative trades, and to confirm them by using links to industry utilities such as the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). The service spans all asset classes and instruments, and automates and streamlines both STP (Straight Through Processing) and non-STP trades. Last month alone, Markit's trade processing platform handled over 40,000 trades for more than 100 active clients.

Novations, terminations and dispute resolution are also supported, and comprehensive reports are provided to give users a complete view of their processing risk. Portfolio reconciliation has recently been added to the service to streamline clients' otherwise onerous daily and monthly reconciliation process.

Jason Parker, Head of Middle Office at CQS said: "Given the onward march of the OTC derivative markets, and the increasing numbers of participants entering these markets, it is now crucial to embrace straight-through-processing. CQS feels the main strength of Markit's service is its ability to facilitate OTC processing workflow across counterparties and asset classes, and to provide a comprehensive overview and audit trail."

"We welcome the opportunity to provide CQS with a solution to their OTC trade processing needs. This issue continues to be a major focus for regulators and the industry at large, and we are seeing growing demand for our trade processing service from clients active in the global OTC derivative markets. They recognise the importance of efficiency in order to keep costs per transaction to a minimum and to ensure regulatory compliance", commented Leo Schlinkert, Executive Vice President and Head of Trade Processing and Distribution at Markit.