Third-party CLS take-up slows
Take-up of the continuous-linked settlement (CLS) service by third-party banks is slowing as a result of time-consuming back-office changes and a waning sense of urgency, CLS project managers told RiskNews ' sister publication, FX Week .
The main hold-up, said officials at banks such as Citigroup, SG and ABN Amro, is that, in necessitating compliant back-office systems, CLS has acted as a catalyst for many banks to overhaul and centralise IT. And completion of these projects could take months or even years.
Michael Knorr, CLS project manager at Citigroup in New York, said: "Third parties are using the opportunity to re-engineer the back office. Discussions about integration might mean a move to a different back-office system, so that delays the process." Citi has nine clients live and 32 mandates signed for its CLS service.
Yet while back-office challenges are time-consuming, once they are out of the way, the process of linking these third parties to CLS will be much easier, said project managers. Brian Dunnett, CLS product manager at SG in Paris, said the bulk of these decisions will be made by the end of the year, which would clear the way for more third parties to start using CLS in 2004.
But other obstacles also remain. Some third parties have lost the sense of urgency to use CLS because they do not yet see the cost justification. Market participants had expected CLS to result in a ‘two-tier’ pricing system, whereby trades settled on the service would cost less than those settled outside the service, due to banks pricing-in the reduced settlement risk that CLS brings.
"Take-up is slow partly because we’re not seeing the tiered pricing that was hinted at before. It just hasn’t happened," said SG’s Dunnett.
But the settlement banks promoting their CLS services still see plenty to encourage take-up from third-party banks. "There are so many advantages," said Joerg Pinkernell, head of ABN Amro’s CLS development group in London. “Apart from reduced settlement risk, CLS is a reputation issue. It shows that a bank is looking at credit and settlement risk, and is aware of what is going on in the market."
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@risk.net or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.risk.net/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@risk.net to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (point 2.4), printing is limited to a single copy.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@risk.net
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (clause 2.4), an Authorised User may only make one copy of the materials for their own personal use. You must also comply with the restrictions in clause 2.5.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@risk.net
More on Technology
Dismantling the zeal and the hype: the real GenAI use cases in risk management
Chartis explores the advantages and drawbacks of GenAI applications in risk management – firmly within the well-established and continuously evolving AI landscape
Chartis RiskTech100® 2024
The latest iteration of the Chartis RiskTech100®, a comprehensive independent study of the world’s major players in risk and compliance technology, is acknowledged as the go-to for clear, accurate analysis of the risk technology marketplace. With its…
T+1: complacency before the storm?
This paper, created by WatersTechnology in association with Gresham Technologies, outlines what the move to T+1 (next-day settlement) of broker/dealer-executed trades in the US and Canadian markets means for buy-side and sell-side firms
Empowering risk management with AI
This webinar explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can strip out the overheads and effort of rapidly modelling, monitoring and mitigating risk
Core-Payments for business leaders: why real-time access to payment data is key to long‑term business success
Business leaders require easy access to timely, reliable and complete information across post-trade processes. Aside from the usual requirements of senior managers to optimise for risk, revenues and costs, they increasingly need to demonstrate to their…
Risk applications and the cloud: driving better value and performance from key risk management architecture
Today's financial services organisations are increasingly looking to move their financial risk management applications to the cloud. But, according to a recent survey by Risk.net and SS&C Algorithmics, many risk professionals believe there is room for…
Machine learning models: the validation challenge
Machine learning models are seeing increasing demand across the capital markets spectrum. But how can firms improve their chances of gaining internal and regulatory approval for these type of models?