FleetBoston Financialhas selected HSBC as settlement bank for its CLS trades. HSBC says this makes it third party CLS settlement member for Fleet for the processing of over 100,000 eligible FX transactions annually. The first transactions were processed on Wednesday.
“After a year long search of ten premier clearing banks, HSBC was chosen for its CLS core competencies, existing currency clearing network and proven technology,” says Jim Witkins, head of Fleet’s Wholesale Technology and Operations.
HSBC says Fleet’s CLS steering committee included representatives from the bank’s FX operations, audit, risk management and legal departments. The selection process included each candidate’s response being weighted on a scorecard that evaluated current and future service, systems architecture and functionality, pricing and liquidity, implementation support and continuity capabilities. HSBC was rated top among the four banks short-listed from the initial list of candidates. A final evaluation of proposals, site visits, and formal presentations resulted in the highest ratings for HSBC.
“HSBC’s solid technological platform is compatible with Fleet’s and provides an opportunity to use CLS not only as a new way to settle FX trades, but also as an opportunity to re-engineer related processes,” explains Erik Johnsen, head of Fleet’s Markets and International Technology and Operations. “Since HSBC is Fleet’s current clearing bank for the euro and sterling, this relationship is an evolution of our existing partnership and our positive experience with them.”
Marilyn H Spearing, HSBC’s head of Global Payments and Cash Management, added: “We are committed to providing our clients with a range of CLS related payment services and we continue to enhance and develop our service proposition and implementation process. We are delighted to add Fleet to our growing list of customers for CLS.”
Michael Gallagher, executive vice president, HSBC Bank USA, said, “We are pleased to be able to leverage our presence in all the CLS eligible countries, given our strength in each of the respective currencies, to offer a unique and comprehensive service to our clients in North America.”