One of the key utilities of foreign Exchange market participants, CLS Group, has just added Johannesburg-based Absa Bank Limited as its newest settlement member. Absa Bank joins a growing list of over sixty members for the group, strengthening CLS’s presence in South Africa.
Presently, CLS’ settlement network has 67 members in it, including a range of leading institutions in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions and the Americas. Absa Bank represents an important development for CLS Group, given its importance to the South African market.
David Puth, CEO of CLS, commented: “I am very pleased to welcome Absa as a direct participant in our settlement service. Absa has been part of our network since the South African rand was added to CLS Settlement in 2004. This latest development strengthens our presence in South Africa and is further endorsement of our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our clients.”
David Puth
Indeed, Absa Bank has previously been a participant in CLS settlement service, only now becoming a direct member. CLS’s overall initiative helps deliver market infrastructure delivering settlement, processing and data solutions for a $5 trillion a day market. Per the new status, Absa will also look to benefit from reduced settlement risk, in tandem with improved efficiency and increased Liquidity to support its domestic currency trading operations.
The list of CLS Settlement members has been trending upwards in recent years, with its cohesive network of direct and indirect participants, service providers, and banks helping swell its overall ranks. Over the past year, CLS Group has also made cohesive efforts to implement new market infrastructure interface upgrades.
This stance was echoed by Mr. Puth, who noted: “Participation in CLS Settlement continues to grow and our settlement members, such as Absa, play a critical role in ensuring market participants have access to the highest standard of risk mitigation to support their trading operations.”
“Although Absa has always been a participant in CLS, joining as a member with direct participation in the CLS settlement service is an important milestone for Absa. FX facilitation is a key part of our product offering and mitigating settlement and credit risk is vital considering daily trading values,” explained Neil Slabbert, Chief Operating Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking at Absa.
