Banks look for tech solution to collateral crunch

With the frequency and volume of collateral calls set to increase dramatically, banks and buy-side firms alike are investing in new systems to help them manage their stock of assets in an efficient way. By Clive Davidson

Christophe de la Bastide

Collateral management used to be an afterthought, but new regulations – and revamped swaps pricing practices – have sent it rocketing up the list of priorities for dealers and their clients. All standardised over-the-counter trades will soon be cleared by central counterparties (CCPs) – which require participants to post initial and variation margin – while uncleared transactions will also be subject to compulsory bilateral margining. The vast majority of collateral in both cleared and uncleared