Post-trade services provider TriOptima has launched an automated margin processing service that will link up to competing vendor AcadiaSoft’s MarginSphere platform.
The link is part of industry efforts to bolster collateral management processes ahead of regulatory requirements that require the margining of uncleared over-the-counter derivatives from September.
TriOptima’s triResolve margin service allows clients to reconcile portfolios, calculate margin requirements, investigate disputes, and send collateral for derivatives trades to counterparties on an automated basis.
The service will act as an add-on to an existing industry-backed AcadiaSoft service. AcadiaSoft’s MarginSphere provides a centralised forum for banks to communicate margin calculations and resolve disputes.
The firm launched MarginSphere in the summer, after rounding out a series of investments from 12 major banks, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Euroclear, and TriOptima’s parent company, ICAP.
The idea at the time was for the industry to establish an independent and centralised medium for the communication of margin calculation and resolution of disputes. The incoming rules for mandatory margin penalise banks if they lodge too many disputes with counterparties each quarter.
TriOptima’s triResolve adds a platform that already automates the transfer of collateral for uncleared derivatives. The platform already boasts 1,500 clients.
“The incoming regulatory scrutiny on margin calls for uncleared derivatives have stimulated the industry to look at how to better automate and re-plumb the industry,” said Raf Pritchard, CEO of triResolve.
“In this case we are re-using existing infrastructure to provide the market a full-scale automated service for the calculation and posting of collateral – in conjunction with the MarginSphere product.”