Access Fintech has connected with MarketAxess Post-Trade for T+0 affirmation, confirmation and matching of repo trades.
The partnership between MarketAxess Repo Confirmation solution (formerly Trax), and the Access Fintech Data collaboration layer, reduces onboarding barriers and enhances the confirmation solution with an exception workflow that is supported industry-wide.
This comes as part of the AFT VendorLake, which has allowed Access Fintech to integrate to the MarketAxess repo platform to send repo data for matching and confirmation with counterparties.
Status updates are sent back to Access Fintech and firms can invoke the exception workflow to increase straight-through processing (STP) rates.
According to Access Fintech, firms will be able to improve efficiency in operating models and reduce risk and exposure.
Additionally, it was noted that the Access Fintech network enables multiple participants, sell and buy side, to reduce the effort, cost and time of onboarding vendors by sharing cost, removing the need for legal onboarding, and reducing point to point connectivity.
Roy Saadon, CEO and co-founder at Access Fintech, explained that in recent years, to a growing number of market participants, the repo market has begun to be viewed as an independent asset and the bar for STP has been raised to meet the standards of higher volume standardised transactions.
According to Saadon, despite best attempts, the sensitivities inherent in repo data have meant that not only have automation levels not aligned with other instrument classes, but specific regulations (such as Securities Financing Transaction Regulation) have been set aside.
Saadon commented: “The push for enhanced STP across all asset classes is now in full flight and repos, which have historically typically been high touch, are under particular review. The recent COVID-19 related market volatility and increased volumes have re-focused energy on creating efficiencies wherever possible.”
He continued: “For a number of years, various initiatives have been proposed aimed to improve the efficiency of post-trade repo processing. These have included proposals for harmonised matching fields, standardised messaging, reviews of conventions and legal requirements for repo confirmations.”
“Furthermore, market solutions have been made available to support distinct processing steps (allocations, confirmations and regulatory reporting), bringing the process more in line with standardised assets such as equities and fixed income. However, as active buy side and sell side firms select distinct vendor solutions for confirmations of repos, it has become clear that the scale of vendor onboarding has become an inhibitor for STP,” Saadon added.
