Source: BME
BME has reached an agreement with the Colombian central counterparty (Cámara de Riesgo Central de Contraparte de Colombia – CRCC) whereby it will use BME’s technology in the clearing and settlement of Interest Rate Swaps (IRS) in the Colombian market, a service that will begin at the end of 2017.
Interest Rate Swaps are used by companies and banks to manage interest rate risk, allowing the conversion of fixed interest rate assets or liabilities into a floating interest rate ones, or vice versa.
BME Clearing, the central counterparty of the BME Group, has been managing this service successfully in the European market for a year and a half.
BME and the CRCC have signed a software licensing agreement through a project that comprises two phases: the launch, this year, of IRS denominated in Colombian currency (COP) and the introduction, next year, of the Cross Currency Swaps, which involve interest rates denominated in US dollars and Colombian pesos.
This project is part of BME's policy of selling its technology in other countries and strengthening ties with other Latin American Stock Exchanges and market infrastructures.