Aviva Investors Asia has mandated Citi to support its OTC derivatives middle office requirements including collateral management in Asia. The service will include trade capture, confirmation, affirmation, life cycle support, daily valuations, margin calculations, dispute resolution, settlement, custody as well as accounting. This mandate extends the range of transaction services that Citi provides Aviva Investors, which currently include custody, securities finance, middle office and fund administration.
Citis robust technology platform and comprehensive support will enable us to further enhance the efficiency and risk management of our operational cycle, said Erich Gerth, chief executive Asia Pacific & Global Business Development at Aviva Investors. This will strengthen our operations at a time of evolving market requirements for the benefit of our clients and company.
The review of credit risk management practices in the wake of the financial crisis has led to a renewed interest in terms used to dictate collateral terms and conditions, and the collateralization of trading relationships. This has led buy side firms to review their costs and operational capabilities in respect of their trading functions, which has prompted some of them to outsource collateral management and OTC derivatives services to a specialist provider.
Citis platform for OTC derivatives combines derivatives middle office services and daily valuations with the providers OpenCollateral service.
David Russell, regional Head, Asia Pacific, Securities and Fund Services, Citi, said,Citis deep industry knowledge, coupled with an extensive franchise across 100 markets globally, uniquely positions us to address the specific challenges facing investors. Since the launch of OpenCollateral in Asia Pacific earlier this year, Citis collateral management services business has been awarded several key mandates, establishing Citi as a leading provider in the region.
In 2011, Citi continued to strengthen its OTC derivatives and collateral management services teams in Asia Pacific. Both Karim Chabane as regional product manager and Sam Ahmed as regional sales head joined this year reporting to Pierre Mengal, regional head of Collateral Services for Citi in Asia Pacific. Wout Kalis, regional head of Alternative Investment services has been driving the roll out of Citis OTC Derivatives Services in Asia Pacific.
(JDC)