Credit Suisse selects FIS Derivatives Utility
Credit Suisse has opted for FIS’s Derivatives Utility for its post-trade futures and cleared over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives operations and technology.
The utility provides customers with derivatives clearing operations and technology services for trade clearing, trade lifecycle management, margin processing, brokerage, reconciliation and data management.
John Dabbs, global head of prime derivatives services, Credit Suisse, says the utility will allow it to “spread the cost of innovation amongst a larger group of firms by creating a standardised solution developed by the industry’s top experts”.
FIS says Derivatives Utility covers more than 135 cleared derivative markets in more than 35 countries.
Platforms and payments
Away from this deal, both Credit Suisse and FIS have been active this year.
Exchange group SIX and Switzerland’s five largest banks (including Credit Suisse) are in talks over a joint mobile payments platform for the country.
Credit Suisse is also part of a syndicate that provided $500 million refinancing to Temenos for a new banking facility.
For FIS, its revenue rose in Q1 2016; it will help US-based Citizens Bank with a core banking revamp; and it’s piloting, with The Clearing House, a “first-of-its-kind” real-time payments system in the US.
Utility is the future
Utility is today’s buzzword in the treasury and capital markets industry, with cost pressures being a key driver. The sector’s cost line remains dead flat but the revenue line has dropped off the cliff.
In a recent interview with Banking Technology, Philippe Chambadal, CEO of SmartStream Technologies, stated: “Utility is the future.” Last year, the company launched a new utility solution – Securities Product Reference Data (SPReD) – in partnership with three top-tier banks, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
