Leading dealers sign up to new CDS matching service

JP Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley have signed up for a new global credit default swap (CDS) matching service that the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) plans to launch in June.

The New York-based company developed the trade-matching service in consultation with a steering committee consisting of representatives from a number of dealers. “DTCC is known for having provided automated, centralised and standardised solutions for equities, fixed income, mutual funds and annuities markets. Credit derivatives is simply another area where we feel we can apply those same techniques,” said Peter Axilrod, a managing director in business development at the DTCC.

“There is an increasing need to automate the current paper-intensive process for credit derivatives confirmations,” said Edward Ocampo, a London-based managing director in the credit derivatives group at Morgan Stanley. “As volumes continue to grow, automation will help the industry reduce operational risk and improve efficiency,” he added. According to the DTCC, other CDS dealers are currently reviewing subscription agreements and are expected to join the service prior to its launch.

The forthcoming CDS initiative is at the vanguard of a wider push by the DTCC to provide more post-trade financial services for the over-the-counter market. Axilrod said the DTCC intends to offer automated confirmation of OTC equity options later this year, and is looking at adding further OTC derivatives services in the future.