Automating the derivatives dilemma

Derivatives are booming, say Alan Horton-Bentley of FileCorp.Net and Christopher McLaughlin of Thunderhead, but so is the pile of trades awaiting processing. If the efficiency funds require is to be attained, and regulators are to be appeased, then it's time to press 'enter'

The rapid expansion of derivatives products has become an area of interest for regulatory agencies such as the UK FSA and Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The reason for this attention is that, over the past few years, the backlog of unconfirmed derivatives trades has increased at an astonishing pace.

As volume of trades has grown, financial institutions have found established business processes insufficient to manage these vehicles. Such operational issues drain the profitability of these