The U.S. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has spawned the creation of regulated Swap Execution Facilities (SEFs) that must capture trades electronically and offer central clearing of over-the-counter (OTC) swaps. Leading global trading solutions provider RTS Realtime Systems Group announced today that it has begun offering customized solutions with technology components critical to the operation of these facilities. Among these will be its recently introduced RTD CORE matching engine solution and connectivity to the major clearing houses capable of clearing swaps.
RTS will highlight these capabilities today in booth #106 at the Swap Execution Facility Conference (SEFCON) in New York.
RTS already offers connectivity across asset classes to more than 135 exchanges and markets globally, with co-located, ultra-low latency access to more than 65 of these venues. As a result, SEFs using RTS technology will be able to offer market users a single platform for multi-asset OTC and exchange-traded execution, with the ability to offset their OTC contracts against underlying markets and provide coordination with their global trading strategy. Futures clearing firms and broker-dealers participating in these SEFs will be able to use RTS technology to set and control risk levels on the platform, with functionality for risk monitoring and the application of built-in limits.
The off-the-shelf Central Order and Routing & Execution System (RTD CORE) will provide the technology to match orders electronically, then send the trades to the respective clearing houses. RTS can host the technology in its global data centers, located in key markets worldwide, and provide full redundancy.
RTS CEO Steffen Gemuenden said: “We are especially pleased to offer this critical solution to meet the needs of the new regulated SEFs and support the Dodd-Frank Act’s goal of increased transparency with real-time reporting and clearing and heightened risk management in the OTC markets. Our solutions, when customized for this purpose, offer a one-stop, cost-effective resource that enables SEFs to get to market quickly and securely without making substantial investments in new infrastructure. We expect to complete the connectivity to the major clearing houses supporting SEFs by the end of the year.”
The Dodd-Frank Act, signed into law on July 21, 2010, called for clearable swaps to trade on an exchange (designated contract market, or DCM) or SEF, unless no such entity will list the swap for trading. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has oversight of the OTC market under the new law and is issuing new rules to implement this authority. SEFs must comply with CFTC position limit rules, collect data in a timely fashion and make trading information public.
