French asset manager Ixis is to implement Clearstream's Vestima+ service for automating cross-border funds distribution.
Ixis, a subsidiary of Caisse d'Epargne, says it will implement the fully automated Vestima+ service to receive fund orders coming from Clearstream's customers that wish to gain access to French domestic funds. Vestima+ will communicate with Ixis using Swift messages and utilise the specific template issued by the French Fund Market Practice Group (FFPMG).
Jean-Marc Eyssautier, head of operations for custody and banking services at Ixis in Paris states: "The European fund industry is desperately lacking automation for fund transactions in the areas of both order processing and secured settlement. By combining the Vestima+ service with Swift communication standards and a true DVP process, Ixis will provide our customers with a very secure way of distributing their funds outside of France."
Scheduled for launch in January, the Vestima+ service is initially targeting the differing needs of each of Europe's main domestic markets beginning with France and Germany and the international market centred in Luxembourg
Bruno Zutterling, director for investment fund services at Clearstream says of the Ixis agreement: "By complying with French market practices, Clearstream enables fund distributors to access domestic markets as transparently as international ones. This highlights the value added by Vestima+ as an order processing hub adopting a multi-domestic approach."