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Are you ready for SFTR? Here’s our four top things to remember as you About MarketAxess and Trax
hit the autumn:

1. Easter weekend: SFTR Phase 1 goes live on Easter MarketAxess operates a leading, institutional
“There is no such thing as being too prepared or starting too early”
weekend 2020. Make sure it’s in your diary, along electronic trading platform delivering expanded
with the chocolate egg reminders liquidity opportunities, improved execution quality
Sunil Daswani, Senior Consultant & Business Lessons learned from past regulatory directives, and significant cost savings across global fixed-
Development for Securities Lending at MarketAxess, including EMIR, show that there is no such thing 2. Early commencement of UAT is critical – and we income markets. A record $1.7 trillion of U.S.
explains why we need to learn from the past and as being too prepared or starting too early. From do mean early. Like now. No matter which phase investment-grade bonds, U.S. high yield bonds,
start preparing earlier for new compliance and conversations with phase 3 go-live firms (e.g. Asset you are in for “go-live” emerging market debt, Eurobonds and other fixed
regulatory reporting demands. And when it comes to Managers, pension funds etc), it is clear that some are income securities traded through MarketAxess’
SFTR, to allow for at least 3 to 6 months of testing still yet to start planning for SFTR. 3. Data needs to be sourced and source systems, patented trading technology in 2018. The global
(or more) ahead of implementation. Which means trading systems and records need to be updated community of 1,600 firms trading on MarketAxess
getting ready now We would like to urge those who have not yet begun before end-to-end reporting can take place. today include the world’s leading asset managers
project planning not to ignore the extent of preparations and institutional broker-dealers. MarketAxess’
From April 2020, the first phase of the Securities needed ahead of the deadline, even if volumes are 4. Controls need to be in place to ensure systems award-winning Open Trading™ marketplace
Financing Transaction Regulation (SFTR) reporting believed to be small. operate correctly and reporting is accurate is regarded as the preferred all-to-all trading
obligations will come into force. There is no doubt that solution in the global credit markets, creating a
SFTR will mean an extra reporting and control lift in The key lessons learnt from previous regulatory Remember, regulatory reporting can drive organisational unique liquidity pool for a broad range of credit
securities finance functions across the industry. transaction reporting, like EMIR change that goes beyond just simple compliance, and market participants.
that can deliver greater operational efficiency, reduced
This is evident when you outline, even in brief, the EMIR was a long time in the making, and while costs and greater transparency. If you do it right. Drawing on its deep data and analytical resources,
challenges and requirements of the new regulation. derivatives trading now runs smoothly, it wasn’t always MarketAxess enables automated trading solutions
the case. What we learnt from EMIR were two key What should you look for in vendor solution(s)? and, through its Trax® division, provides a range of
What are some of the key challenges? lessons: one, that there are always those less prepared pre- and post-trade services and products.
than they should be, and two, that regulatory change More than anything, you need to be able to find a
‹ Complexity – and the failure of tweaking legacy can, by its nature, change right up until the last minute. partner who you can trust, and who has the knowledge MarketAxess is headquartered in New York
systems to be able to cope with that complexity and experience to deliver a sophisticated, informed and and has offices in London, Amsterdam, Boston,
What this means is that both firms and their potential modular approach to solving your particular problems. Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Salt Lake City, San
‹ Volume of Data – SFTR requires over 150 vendor partners need to ensure they have planned for Your partner should offer: Francisco, São Paulo, Hong Kong and Singapore.
reportable data fields. We estimate that there may all the potential changes and anticipated what this
be anything up to, or exceeding, 115 million daily might mean in terms of resourcing or adapting to the ‹ Access to near real-time reporting dashboards For more information, please visit
transactions that are reportable. So sourcing the change as it happens. and reporting www.marketaxess.com.
required data is a huge lift, for everyone.
To ensure proper preparation for the 2020 deadline, ‹ Regulator-approved solutions and services
‹ Time and money – SFTR reporting is now only MarketAxess have already begun UAT (User Acceptance
8 months away, and the clock is ticking. There Testing) with key clients. ‹ The ability to track the entire reporting process
are potential fines waiting for those who fail to with full visibility.
make the deadline. This ensures that any existing issues can be picked
up and addressed, maximising our clients’ ability to ‹ Affordable pricing
‹ Time - phased implementation with backloading identify process gaps and development areas, and then
requires most firms to be ready in early 2020 due action resolution steps in time for implementation. ‹ The necessary people and expertise to be able Sunil Daswani
to matching with counterparties, if both are in- to adapt your solution to additional regulatory Senior Consultant &
scope organisations for SFTR reporting So are you ready? changes post go live Business Development
for Securities Lending
With the deadline fast approaching, some firms may If the answer is not yet, then it is time to take stock and ‹ Experience with live platforms already in place for MarketAxess
find that they are still requiring help with preparation. begin a strategic approach. all types of regulatory reporting

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