The pricing and reference data business of Interactive Data, a provider of financial market data, analytics and related services, has introduced a service that will automate the delivery o
The pricing and reference data business of Interactive Data, a provider of financial market data, analytics and related services, has introduced a service that will automate the delivery of independent valuations of interest rate swaps.
With the new interest rate swap valuation service, Interactive Data can help customers more efficiently value portfolios that contain a broad range of financial instruments, including securities and over-the-counter derivatives.
According to the International Swaps and Derivates Association, interest rate swaps represent a significant portion of the OTC derivatives market, with a total notional amount outstanding of USD250.8trn at the end of June last year.
The growth of interest rate swaps, up 25 per cent over the previous year, has been driven by a number of factors, including the standardised contract documentation from ISDA, growth in electronic trading through single and multi-dealer platforms, as well as ECNs, and the availability of automated matching and confirmation services from the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation.
Interactive Data’s new service delivers valuations of interest rate swaps based on benchmark curves from ICAP, the world’s premier interdealer broker, and trade details input by customers. The valuation process uses Interactive Data’s technical infrastructure and is supported by the company’s business continuity processes and redundant systems.
The interest rate swap valuation service is available as a module to FTSSM, Interactive Data’s online portfolio administration service. FTS includes user-friendly setup screens and reports that include the results of file uploads, and offers customers the ability to upload trades and download output files. Interactive Data’s new service will generate two valuations each day, based on curves at the end of the day in London at 16:30 GMT and in New York at 16:30 ET.
‘By leveraging our experience in bond evaluations, we have developed a new offering that can help customers seamlessly obtain independent valuations of interest rate swaps – a large, well-established market that is still experiencing significant growth,’ says Ray D’Arcy, president of sales, marketing and institutional business development at Interactive Data.
‘The new interest rate swap valuation service complements our current offerings that deliver independent valuations of credit default swaps, CDS index trades and bank loans, demonstrating our commitment to expanding the range of information that we deliver to customers through flexible offerings that tightly integrate into their workflow.’
Interactive Data is a leading global provider of financial market data, analytics and related services to financial institutions, active traders and individual investors, supplying time-sensitive pricing, evaluations and reference data for more than 3.5 million securities traded around the world, including hard-to-value instruments. The company, which is 62 per cent owned by Pearson, publisher of the Financial Times, has around 2,200 employees in offices located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia
