Citi has become the first futures clearing bank to connect to London-based ICE Clear Europe following its integration onto the Baton Systems CCP network.
Baton said ICE Clear Europe was the fifth global CCP to join its network, which allows futures commission merchant (FCM) to automate their collateral movements via major clearinghouses.
FCMs using the network can also automate and optimise collateral holdings and expedite the movement of cash and securities with the selected CCPs.
“With Baton, we have been able to accelerate our innovation agenda and drive efficiencies throughout our entire clearing process,” said Mariam Rafi, Americas head of clearing and FX prime brokerage (FXPB) and global head of financial resource management, futures, clearing and FXPB, Citi.
“Our collateral management team can now access information in real-time and dynamically manage our inventory of eligible collateral across the network of CCPs we interact with the most, which enables us to better serve our clients.”
Through the Baton network, billions of dollars of assets and payments are moved every day, connecting the world’s largest exchange operators, FCMs, custodians and banks. Using Baton for automated collateral management enables firms to access CCP account balances and acceptable collateral lists on-demand and view all assets deposited at external custody banks and clearing houses.
Baton added that ICE Clear US and ICE Clear Credit will also connect with the network later in the year.
“With Baton completing a connection to the ICE Collateral API, our clearing members can further optimise their collateral and margin management processes,” said Chris Edmonds, global head of clearing and risk at ICE. “We are now facilitating additional ICE CCPs with Baton, so we can assist more of our clearing members globally across the numerous asset classes we clear.”