With the Dodd-Frank rule for certain swaps to be mandatorily traded on Swap Execution Facilities (SEFs) becoming effective, a new survey finds that the industry remains underprepared to meet the requirements of these new regulations, while individual firms push ahead to make themselves ready. This survey, released today and conducted by IPC Systems, Inc., a leading provider of voice and electronic trading communications solutions to the world’s top financial services firms and global enterprises, highlights the state of the industry’s preparedness for this new SEF model and potential impact on the OTC derivatives markets.
The survey was conducted during FIA Chicago, from November 5-7, 2013, and generated responses from hedge funds, investment banks, broker/dealers, exchanges and other financial institutions. Respondents came from the front, middle, and back office and included people involved in both the business and technology sides of trading operations. Key findings include:
SEF Impact
Potential OTC Derivatives Market Growth
SEF Connectivity
“Over the last year, we have seen a lot of activity from financial firms that have been looking for additional or new network connectivity to many of the already registered SEFs or OTFs through Connexus, our Financial extranet,” said Ganesh Iyer, Director, Product Marketing, Financial Market Network at IPC. “While the survey results suggest that the industry is underprepared for mandated SEF trading, we see this issue as more of a fear of uncertainty around industry-wide implementation and regulatory governance. Individual firms, SEFs and their equivalent platforms are already planning connectivity, systems and processes to be ready to meet the new trading requirements.”
The full survey report, titled “Market View 2014: OTC Derivatives Regulations and Swap Execution Facilities,” can be downloaded from IPC’s website.
About IPC
IPC is a leading global provider of specialized communications solutions for the financial trading community. With a 100-percent focus on this sector and over 40 years of expertise, IPC provides customers with integrated solutions that support traders and participants across the entire trade lifecycle including sell-side and buy-side financial institutions, inter-dealer brokers, liquidity venues, clearing and settlement firms, independent software vendors, corporate finance departments, financial information exchange providers and market data providers. IPC’s offerings include a unified
communications/application platform, award-winning hard and soft turrets, managed voice and data network connectivity solutions and dedicated service and support. IPC’s global reach extends to more than 60 countries – including a network of 5,000 customer sites over 630 cities and an installed base of approximately 118,000 trading positions deployed worldwide. Headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, IPC has approximately 900 employees located throughout the Americas and the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.
