Pakistan's United Bank deploys Principia derivatives management system

The bank is the first one in the country to adopt derivatives in its trading and risk management practices.

After an extensive review of derivatives risk management system, the bank selected the Principia System on the basis of its broad functionality and ease of installation and maintenance. As the swap market continues to evolve in Pakistan, the system will enable UBL to strengthen its first-to-market advantage in the Pakistani derivatives market. It will enable the bank to more accurately price, risk manage and account for a wide array of derivative instruments. Principia System's core application met all of UBL's business functional requirements for end to end processing.

The installation is currently situated at the bank's treasury division at its head office in Karachi. "I believe this is the first of its kind: a straight-through-processing derivatives risk management system installed in Pakistan," states Risha A. Mohyeddin, Group Executive, Treasury & Capital Markets at UBL. "We are delighted with the speed and efficiency with which the front-to-back office system implementation was accomplished. Principia provided outstanding training, consulting and support throughout the process."

The bank also plans to leverage the integrated cross-asset functionality of the Principia System, including its fixed income and structured products portfolios, for unified portfolio management, risk management and accounting.

"We are proud to be associated with UBL and its achievements in the development of the derivatives market in Pakistan. Through this valued relationship, Principia is well-positioned to serve the rapid development of structured finance and derivatives in this strategic region," states Theresa Adams, CEO and President of Principia Partners.