SmartStream Technologies and Celent have released findings of new research into European Post Trade Processing. The study revealed that, STP has been embraced as a concept but actual practice shows a lack of commitment. Banks and Asset Management firms are not allocating sufficient time and attention to Back and Middle Office STP initiatives.
The research based on interviews with senior executives from a cross section of European institutions and a formal survey of more than 80 individuals sought to identify the most common STP pain points across instrument types, including derivatives, equities, foreign exchange, cash and fixed income.
“While problems differ by country it’s clear that all geographies still have much work to do with respect to the automation of both equities and derivatives transactions,” says David Easthope, an Analyst at Celent. “In the equity markets rising volumes and increasing complexity of cross-border trades are leading to allocation and matching problems. Whilst for derivatives, and most significantly equity OTC derivatives, confirmation and matching remain the biggest issue.”