Helsinki Stock Exchange – which is owned by OMX – has bought Computershare’s SMARTS surveillance software application. It will use the system for a minimum of three years.
Using data management facilities, SMARTS aims to build an understanding of “normal” market behaviour so that algorithms can be created to identify “abnormal” behaviour and alert the exchange. Computershare says that, because identification and analysis of suspicious trading occurs in real-time, a rapid response from surveillance departments using SMARTS can be achieved.
SMARTS will be provided through the obSurveX service provided by the Oslo Brs. The obSurveX concept combines the supply and operation of the SMARTS system together with the provision of expertise in market surveillance and specialised surveillance services. SMARTS is already used throughout Scandinavia – including the Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm markets – through obSurveX. Last March, the Iceland Stock Exchange (ICEX) also began using SMARTS.
“We are extremely pleased that Helsinki has chosen to rely on Computershare Markets Technology as they grow and expand their business,” says Peter Jessup, Managing Director of Computershare Markets Technology. “Consistent with our other exchange products, SMARTS is the most innovative and sophisticated technology in its field. The proven ability to promote a market’s efficiency and fairness, to operate in both cash and derivative markets, and to lower long-run costs for exchanges are the reasons that our technology has been implemented across the Nordic region over the last seven years.”
Thomas Jones, CEO of SMARTS Europe adds that all four exchanges of the Norex alliance are in a formal surveillance alliance, but that 13 other exchanges and regulators are also part of an informal global surveillance alliance. “The members of this informal alliance obviously benefit from sharing the software, and also from events such as our upcoming conference in Stockholm in mid 2005,” he says.
With the assistance of SMARTS research staff, Oslo Brs has already established a centre of expertise for market surveillance for both cash and derivative markets. Each participating exchange is responsible for the operation of its own market surveillance function, whereas the expertise centre is principally involved in developing surveillance alarms and systems production. Through extensive experience and training, the centre also contributes to improving the market surveillance expertise of all the exchanges that use obSurveX.
“This will make cooperation between the Nordic exchanges, harmonization and cross-border surveillance far easier,” says Sverre Lilleng, Head of Market Surveillance at Oslo Brs and the Chairman of the obSurveX Committee.
SMARTS is developed by Sydney-based SMARTS Pty Ltd and is supported by R&D in collaboration with the Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre, also based in Sydney.
This announcement comes just weeks after the Australian Stock Exchange began live operation of SMARTS for the surveillance operations in mid September this year.