Bank of America platform integrates derivatives financing capabilities

Bank of America has launched a new prime brokerage platform, integrating equity swap capabilities with traditional prime brokerage services.

The launch brings to fruition several months of planning during which the bank sought to integrate derivatives capabilities into its prime brokerage platform to enhance the service it provides for hedge funds. The new platform will enable users to cross-margin positions across various equity structures, and report and monitor risk on a comprehensive basis.

The platform was developed and supported entirely by an in-house team led by Chris Pesce, who Bank of America hired from Goldman Sachs as global head of prime brokerage last year. Pesce has quickly and aggressively built up the group with a number of external hires, including Mark Whitehead, head of European prime brokerage, from Merrill Lynch and Pascal Scemama, head of prime brokerage trading and risk, who also joined from Merrill.

In launching the new platform, Pesce said the demand for an integrated suite of products for hedge funds is increasing from both established and emerging clients.