Omgeo and SWIFT have inked a strategic agreement covering messages communication and standardisation. The first project to be implemented will enable the Omgeo equivalent of the GSTPA Transaction Flow Manager (TFM)- the Central Trade ManagerSM, or Omgeo CTM – to send settlement notification messages via SWIFTNet to custodians, sub-custodians and clearing agents for domestic and cross-border trades.
The deal means that SWIFT, whose loyalties have hitherto lain firmly with the GSTPA, becomes a “preferred messaging solution” for settlement notifications channelled through the Omgeo CTM. For SWIFT, it opens up a whole new clientele previously owned by DTCC and Thomson ESG. “Omgeo will now offer its clients greater flexibility when communicating with trading counter parties, which allows them to extend further their existing SWIFT relationship,” as the Omgeo press release coyly put it.
The agreement between SWIFT and Omgeo builds upon Omgeo’s TradeSuite Service connection to SWIFT FIN, which was established back in 1995, and Omgeo CTM’s interface to SWIFT FIN, which was built in September 2001. Omgeo and SWIFT will provide an implementation schedule for SWIFTNet by the end of 2002; implementation is expected to start by mid-2003.
“Omgeo and SWIFT share a similar goal: to help their clients achieve true, end-to-end STP. This partnership and this first project are the demonstration of our mutual commitment to this goal”, says Leonard H. Schrank, CEO, SWIFT.
“SWIFT’s services are complementary to Omgeo’s, especially in the area of communicating post-trade and settlement information to custodians and other settlement agents globally. Firms using SWIFTNet for other critical business tools can now consolidate their message traffic over a single network. This will provide customers with the means to achieve greater operational efficiency”, adds Adam Bryan, President and CEO of Omgeo.
The agreement includes supporting standards convergence on the Omgeo CTM platform. “We look forward to assisting Omgeo in their adoption of ISO 15022 standards, for which SWIFT is the registration authority, to increase efficiency along the transaction chain”, says Francis Remacle, Head of the Securities Industry Division, SWIFT.