Merrill Lynch is to implement technology co-developed with middleware vendor Dovetail Systems to power the electronic communication of trade data for straight-through processing.
The new application, which is based on Dovetail's proprietary, component-based software, will initally enable the communication of trade data to the GSTPA's (Global Straight-Through Processing Association) transaction flow manager (TFM) - a utility being developed by the axion4gstp vendor consortium that tracks and matches allocations, proceeds, and settlement instructions in international financial transactions.
Art Thomas, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Merrill Lynch's securities services division, the firm's clearing, custody and financing arm, comments: "With the implementation of the GSTPA transaction flow manager, the industry is beginning to realise the benefits of STP. Dovetail's technology will enable Merrill Lynch to share these valuable benefits with our institutional clients and with other broker-dealers."
The Dovetail system was initally developed for Swift-based payments processing applications and has been adapted for securities trading. it will connect Merrill to the TFM via the axion4 gateway through SwiftNet, the banking co-operative's new IP-based network.
Merrill has yet to confirm whether it will use the Dovetail solution to link up with rival post-trade processing scheme Omgeo, from Thomson Financial and the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation.