BNP unit pushes STP for forex

BNP Paribas Securities Services is using CheckFree’s straight-through processing (STP) module to scale its processing services for foreign exchange transactions, reports Risknews’ sister publication, Trading Technology Week .

The CheckFree TradeFlow TPM solution covers foreign exchange trades from the order/entry to the settlement stages. The BNP business unit serves brokers, counterparties and custodians.

The firm automated this process to broaden the appeal of its offerings and lay the groundwork for extending this system "across asset classes and clients", said Gert Raeves, business development director for CheckFree. The implementation replaces manual processes and was deployed at the end of last year. It went live earlier this year.

The TradeFlow TPM is a single environment that enables user firms to design, execute and monitor workflow, data model and integration parameters. The package has a single Data Field Dictionary that serves as the metadata repository for processing rules and formats.

Nick Kirk, London-based head of BNP Paribas’ UK investor services business, said the purchase is the result of a strategic focus on STP for transactions when they are received electronically. It implemented across forex first as less automation was in place, and has been so successful it is planning to roll out money market and securities processing, he said. “Once we have completed this in London, we intend to roll out across other locations."

The TradeFlow software was deployed on a centrally located Sun Microsystems server running Solaris.

BNP Paribas Securities Services offers its services to European and Asia-Pacific markets, including investment managers and global custodians. Buy-side clients access the unit’s server for trade confirmation and settlement services through remote terminal access or the thin-client offerings of CheckFree, officials said.