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Central counterparties take the stage

06 January 2010

Is the the securities finance industry ready to answer the need for greater transparency by adopting a central counterparty?

Read more: [Central counterparties take the stage]

Lack of transparency is a common criticism of the securities finance industry. The ultimate form of transparency – a central counterparty (CCP) – is now facing the market but the question remains whether the securities finance is ready to take the next step in its development.

Central counterparties are the hottest point of debate in the securities finance industry. Every conference has a panel devoted to the discussion and they are on the radar of most industry practitioner when looking ahead to 2010.

The frontrunner in getting a CCP to market in the US seems to be Quadriserv, which recently added 26 new members to its AQS securities lending platform. New AQS members include, among others: BofA Merrill Lynch, Calyon Securities (USA), Citigroup Global Markets, Jefferies & Company, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA) and Pershing.

Gregory DePetris, co-founder of Quadriserv, comments: “This list is not exhaustive, as agent lenders and hedge funds...


 

Poll

What will UCITS IV mean to the market?

It will increase economies of scale and reduce costs for UCITS investors
34%
It will provide more choice, transparency and investor protection
17%
It will encourage the consolidation of funds
17%
It will result in a push by firms to domicile in a single location as opposed to multiple
17%
No real effect at all
14%