Euroclear, Xtrakter and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) announce the closing, effective 30 April, of Euroclears acquisition of Xtrakter Ltd, the ICMA subsidiary. Xtrakter owns TRAX, the trade matching and reporting system.
Xtrakter becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Euroclear SA/NV and a sister company to the Euroclear groups international and national central securities depositories, and EMXCo.
Tim May, Chairman of Euroclear UK & Ireland, will also become Chairman of Xtrakter. The Xtrakter business complements Euroclear Banks OTC trade matching and routing service, and the trade reporting service provided by Euroclear UK & Ireland.
We welcome our new colleagues at Xtrakter and together look forward to delivering even more client benefits, says Ignace R. Combes, deputy chief executive officer, Euroclear SA/NV.
Our joint efforts will make it possible to automate trade information flows from matching, using the TRAX system, through to settlement at Euroclear. We will eliminate fragmentation and trade matching duplication, while reducing costs and settlement fails. The complementary services offered by Xtrakter and Euroclear will be instrumental in further reducing risks, which is vital given todays challenging market conditions.
As part of the Euroclear group, Xtrakters pre-settlement expertise, combined with Euroclears highly efficient transaction-settlement capabilities, will provide a competitively priced, full STP service, says Kevin Milne, chief executive officer, Xtrakter. Together, we will help our clients further reduce their post-trade costs by streamlining processes, leveraging technology and extending existing services, such as trade reporting, into new areas.
With the completion of the sale of Xtrakter to Euroclear, we are confident that Euroclear will continue to enhance its product offering for the benefit of market participants, says Ren Karsenti, executive president, ICMA. ICMA is now able to focus on its central commitments as a pan-European body, serving the needs of its members at a time when they face enormous challenges from a changing economic and regulatory environment.
L.D.