Post-Trade Forum

The Post Trade Forum's aim is to propagate debate and discussion between senior practitioners in Post Trade Operations in the global securities market; to bring about increased awareness and knowledge across both buy-side and sell-side financial institutions in financial products and be a focal point for firms and practitioners to air views.

Retired Member 

My Views on Third Party Securities Lending

There was a survey of US plan sponsors put out by a consultant last month that included some commentary on “unbundling”. Unfortunately the survey is a subscriber only document, so I haven’t read it, but I have spoken with a number of people who are subscribers and of course there are the various media reports. Virtually every news item focused o...

14 February 2012 /wholesale

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

An old world for Stock Borrowing and Lending

The announcement of the ESMA industry consultation relating to this year’s implementation of new regulations for the revision of the markets for short selling, including stock borrowing and lending can only be welcomed. However, it’s really ironic that the thrust of the concerns around stock borrowing and lending appear to me to be an admission t...

30 January 2012 /sibos

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Breaking up of the Euro contingency projects

Much to my surprise I found out recently that a large number of UK Banks have already been working on their plans for the eventual breakup of the Euro. As I understand it the banks are basing their plans around first one Euro State going, quickly followed by others, with various scenarios being played out. For example, a split, with the northern E...

25 January 2012 /payments /regulation

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Getting the most from trade finance

Investment banks have enormous positions to fund on a daily basis. This will include not only its own proprietary positions but also those of its clients who make use of the bank’s market capabilities and its ability to maximise collateral to get the best possible deal. By making good use of the soup to nuts banking facility the investing client h...

23 January 2012 /wholesale

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Why is liquidity important?

Now you would think this was an easy question, or at least I did. However, the once unquestioned value of liquidity to markets is now being knocked of its perch by politicians and people fazed by the current economic crisis. One of the worst things anyone can do in a crisis is to panic, but that appears to be the case today. Research has shown that...

20 January 2012

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

The Bear Game

In the UK, the history of stock borrowing and lending has veered from being a well regulated, secure winner for all parts of the finance industry into an open season that is almost a free-for-all for regulated business. This has been instrumental in the creation of a much greater risk in short selling. I will be presenting a potted history of stoc...

18 January 2012 /wholesale

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Should short selling be banned?

There has been a huge media outcry that short selling is a major reason for the economic crisis. Worryingly people in the industry have bought this message and many firmly believe that short selling is one of the market’s evils. Sadly this view, although popular, demonstrates the ignorance of the reality of the benefits that short selling brings t...

13 January 2012 /wholesale

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

A plan for euro replacement

As the politicians in the Eurozone appear incapable of coming up with a rescue plan or any plan to implement an orderly retreat I have been thinking of what might happen. So far the politicians’ only idea, has been to flood money into whatever country is teetering on the edge, in the hope of buying enough time to resolve the cause of the illness, c...

28 November 2011

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

400 million euro; for what?

At a recent conference a senior member of the T2S development team said that to date €350m had been spent on development and this was likely to rise to about €400m due to the 9 months delay announced at SIBOS. Let me say it again €400m! When T2S was devised in pre 2006, the world was a very different place and in those days a technology platform to...

18 November 2011 /regulation /sibos

Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research

Rating Agencies Stampeding Cattle

Since the first signs of the Credit Crunch and the debacle of bad asset valuation in the subprime disaster, the role of Credit Rating Agencies has created deep concern for Governments and Regulators alike. The independence that the finance industry always expected of ratings was almost unquestioned before, but not since. This begs the question ho...

17 November 2011 /sibos