SwapsWire launches equity derivatives give-up service

London-based electronic confirmation service SwapsWire today launched its PBWire service, which supports give-ups on equity derivatives trades. PBWire allows buy-side clients, executing brokers and prime brokers to communicate give-up details in real time, and to ensure that trades are agreed and legally confirmed minutes after execution.

The service – which already supports interest rate and credit derivatives transactions – avoids the need for paper confirmations and the subsequent documentation backlogs which can occur.

Buy-side clients can confirm all their trades in a single screen, whether traded direct or given up to one or more prime brokers.

The confirmation process for equity derivatives trades has fallen under increasing regulatory scrutiny. Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has spearheaded a drive among global regulators to speed up the processing of derivatives trades.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today welcomed a letter from 17 major banks outlining a framework for improving the infrastructure supporting the global equity derivatives market. The banks said they would create an environment where frequently traded products are supported by streamlined documentation, the majority of confirmable events are processed electronically, and confirmations are executed on a timely basis.