Big banks tap Traiana for OTC FX clearing

BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS will all use Traiana's Harmony CCP Connect to manage the clearing process with their clients, counterparties and clearinghouses. In addition, all six firms are participating in Traiana's CCP Connect Working Group to drive functional requirements and best practices for OTC clearing processes. This collaborative effort is a further step by the FX industry to comply with new regulations mandated by the Dodd-Frank act and to prepare for upcoming clearing regulations in Europe and Asia.

Harmony CCP Connect provides a comprehensive workflow solution for client clearing via the Harmony network, including CCP connectivity, trade routing, affirmation, matching, allocation, and reporting for centrally cleared OTC FX options and non-deliverable forwards (NDFs). With a single connection, Harmony CCP Connect can provide access to all CCPs, lowering costs and complexity for market participants. Harmony CCP Connect also provides a gateway to other leading FX infrastructure operators, ensuring clients can use their preferred trading, allocation and confirmation venues with complete interoperability. The solution supports all proposed US and European clearing rules and workflows, simplifying compliance for FX clearing firms and their clients.

Peter Klein, Global Head of FXPB, BofA Merrill Lynch said, "BofA Merrill Lynch is committed to providing superior access to the world's CCPs, SEFs, and platforms. Our partnership with Traiana gives us that key single connection to access the entire market. Traiana reduces complexity and risk which directly helps BofA Merrill Lynch clients to get a best in breed service."

Andrew Coyne, Managing Director, Head of FX Prime & eCommerce Product, Citi said, "Traiana has the connections in place to the clearinghouses, clients and counterparties as well as ties into our existing FX systems and processes. As the first firm to have chosen Harmony CCP P Connect, we easily leveraged our existing infrastructure with the least amount of change to the business and that of our clients."

Jason Vitale, Global Head FXPB & OTC Clearing, Deutsche Bank said, "Against the backdrop of global regulatory reform, the FXPB industry has been quick to evolve our market infrastructure to comply to new requirements. The demand for change is now transitioning to focus on how our clients maintain operations with the least impact to their current business models. With important partners such as Traiana Harmony, in the future our clients can continue to trade across FX Cash and Derivatives with minimal complexity."

Andres Choussy, Global Head of FX Clearing, JP Morgan said, "With many new rules and regulations, FX post-trade workflows will likely evolve for years. Working together with Traiana and other leading prime brokers will allow us to quickly adapt as we comply with the Dodd-Frank act and the upcoming regulations in Europe and Asia."

Michael Irwin, Co-Head FXPB, Morgan Stanley said, "With Traiana's deep domain expertise in FX clearing and prime brokerage, they have long been our partner for processing FX options and NDFs with our clients and counterparties. Extending the offering to OTC FX client clearing was the simplest solution for our firm and for our clients."

Ed Pla, Managing Director, UBS said, "The FX industry is very unique with the large number of trading venues, affirmation and confirmation platforms. To serve our broad client base, it was important to choose a solution with proven capability to interoperate with the vendors used for messaging, post-trade processing and settlement."

Gil Mandelzis, CEO, Traiana said, "We are grateful to have the leading FX clearing firms choose Traiana for clearing of OTC FX derivatives and drive best practices in our CCP Connect Working Group. With our combined efforts, the entire FX industry will benefit from lower costs, complexity and a faster implementation of regulatory reforms."