Markit Group Limited, the independent derivatives pricing and valuation agency, says it has just signed the 100th customer to Markit RED(Reference Entity Database).
Markit RED is the database of reference entity and reference obligation identifiers used in the credit default swap (CDS) markets, including on-line trading, standard documentation and trade settlement.
Markit claims RED is “widely acknowledged to have significantly increased the efficiency of the matching, confirmation and settlement infrastructure at client firms by diminishing legal and operational risks.”
Its position was improved when US CSD, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, required that all broker/dealers on its matching and confirmation service (Deriv/SERV) use RED nine-digit reference codes for matching purposes.
“Markit RED has just had its second birthday and the signing of our 100th customer coming hot on the heels of our Operations Management award for Vendor of the Year are signs of the maturity of the service,” says Penny Davenport, Director of Markit RED. “2005 has been a year of strong customer growth for Markit RED, with penetration of both buy-side and sell-side firms, not to mention data providers seeking to redistribute RED. We will see more of the same in 2006 as RED continues to support the automation efforts to minimise settlement backlogs in the fast-growing credit derivative market.”
Jonathan Adams, Vice President in Credit Trading at JPMorgan, agrees that RED “continues to have a very positive impact on the credit default swap market by making it more efficient and providing further liquidity and transparency to our clients. Markit RED has spurred the growth of on-line broking, its value being emphasised by calls from the FSA and the Fed to improve efficiency in the operational processing of credit default swaps.”