September 09, 2013
Commerzbank and Clearstream announce strategic partnership to launch TradeCycle, the first integrated service of its kind for OTC derivative trade lifecycle
- TradeCycle to provide tailor-made real-time support to financial institutions and corporates to comply with changing regulatory requirements and offer cost-reduction opportunities
- Complete trade lifecycle solution with value-added services for cleared and uncleared OTC derivatives to go live in Q4 2013
Commerzbank and Clearstream today announced a strategic partnership offering their clients increased efficiency, reduced risk and seamless processing to cleared and uncleared OTC derivative transactions. The new TradeCycle service will be launched in Q4 2013 and is the first integrated service of its kind. The joint offering will provide clients access to an integrated management solution for the OTC derivative trade lifecycle: from trading to clearing, settlement and custody, including key services such as advisory, valuation, and collateral management. Market participants will benefit from an end-to-end solution for the handling of OTC derivatives which will allow them to minimise operational inefficiencies, funding costs, enhance yield and improve their risk management as well as being prepared for future regulatory requirements such as EMIR or MiFID/ MiFIR.
Derivatives trading and market infrastructures have been brought to the forefront of regulatory attention and regulators have set in motion mandatory requirements which financial institutions and corporates will have to meet. As the market becomes more fragmented, it is not uncommon for clients to engage with a large number of banks and vendors to complete one single transaction, leading to increased costs and inefficiencies. TradeCycle will simplify this process for clients by managing all their OTC derivatives trades across the entire value chain from one single point of access.
Nikolaus Giesbert, Divisional Board Member for Fixed Income & Currencies at Commerzbank Corporates & Markets commented: “Regulatory requirements increase the complexity in the day to day business of financial institutions and corporates and there is growing demand for streamlined services. Clients with too many vendors engaged in OTC derivative transactions risk significantly higher funding expenses. Our holistic TradeCycle solution and effective collateral management strategies reduce operational inefficiencies and costs.”
Stefan Lepp, Member of the Executive Board and Head of Global Securities Financing at Clearstream, said: “For the first time, a bank and an independent infrastructure provider are partnering to offer an end-to-end derivatives solution for the industry. The offering is tailor-made, aimed at tackling market inefficiencies, saving funding costs and reducing overhead costs. Such partnership models allow us to meet the needs of the market participants in a very short time-to-market. TradeCycle will provide significant relief to our mutual clients in light of the upcoming regulatory challenge.”
Press contacts
Commerzbank
Tim Seifert +49 69 136 81771
Clearstream
Nicolas Nonnenmacher +352 243 36115
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About Commerzbank
Commerzbank is a leading bank in Germany and Poland. It is also present worldwide in all markets for its customers as a partner to the business world. With the business areas Private Customers, Mittelstandsbank, Corporates & Markets and Central & Eastern Europe, it offers its private and corporate clients as well as institutional investors the banking and capital market services they need. With some 1,200 branches Commerzbank has one of the densest branch networks among German private banks. In total, Commerzbank boasts nearly 15 million private customers, as well as 1 million business and corporate clients. In 2012, it generated revenues of just under EUR 10 billion with approximately 56,000 employees on average.
About Clearstream
Clearstream is a leading service provider in liquidity and collateral management services with more than 20 years of experience in this field. As an international central securities depository (ICSD) headquartered in Luxembourg, Clearstream provides the post-trade infrastructure for the Eurobond market and services for securities from 53 domestic markets worldwide. Clearstream’s customers comprise approximately 2,500 financial institutions in more than 110 countries. Its services include the issuance, settlement and custody of securities, as well as investment fund services and global securities financing. With roughly €11.5 trillion in assets under custody, Clearstream is one of the world’s largest settlement and custody firms for domestic and international securities.
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Important notice
This document is jointly published by Commerzbank AG and Clearstream Banking S.A. and is prepared for general information purposes only. The information contained herein is not intended to provide professional legal advice and should not be relied upon in that regard. Readers should seek appropriate professional advice where necessary before taking any action based on the information contained in this document. Commerzbank AG and Clearstream Banking S.A. make no guarantees, representations or warranties and accept no responsibility or liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the information, and under no circumstances will they be liable for any loss or damage caused by reliance on any opinion, advice or statement made in this document. Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
