ABN AMRO announced today that it has successfully implemented Capitalia as a fully live Continuous Linked Settlement (CLST ) third party services client, making Capitalia the first CLS third party bank to go live in the Italian market.
The implementation follows ABN AMRO’s approval as a first wave Settlement Member of CLS Bank International (CLS Bank), when the ground-breaking, risk-free settlement system for FX transactions was launched in September last year.
Augusto Aggio, responsible for CLS projects in the Finance Department of Capitalia, said: “I am very pleased that Capitalia is the first bank in Italy to deliver the ground-breaking benefits of CLS to its clients. The achievement of such an important objective has been made possible by the valuable and highly professional support offered by ABN AMRO.”
John Gibbons, Global Head Cash, Payment & Custody Sales in ABN AMRO’s Working Capital business commented: “Strong partnership with Capitalia’s dedicated development team made a significant contribution to the rapid implementation of a tailored live service.”
Joerg Pinkernell, Head of the CLS Development Group in ABN AMRO’s Working Capital business, said: “By working together in a collaborative way, we have gained valuable experience throughout the implementation process that will assist us in fine-tuning how we deliver our CLS offering to the requirements and needs of third parties.”
ABN AMRO is a leading innovator of CLS third party services and is the first Settlement Member of CLS Bank to offer free-of-charge testing facilities for third parties, enabling interested banks and trading communities to preview the multiple benefits of CLS.
In November last year, ABN AMRO opened a dedicated CLS Centre, which provides comprehensive operational and client support around the clock, allowing clients to track trade processing, net CLS positions, payment status, exceptions handling, system configuration and user administration.
To date, numerous financial institutions have signed for third party CLS settlement services via ABN AMRO including Anglo Irish Bank, Bear Stearns and Deutsche Postbank, while about forty are now waiting to undergo testing.