CLS Group, a provider of risk mitigation and operational services, has teamed up with over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives specialist TriOptima, and jointly eliminated upwards of $1 trillion in gross notional value from their outstanding FX forward and swap portfolios, as part of the triReduce CLS FX Forward Compression Service.
The triReduce CLS Forward FX Compression Service helps consolidate CLS’s robust foreign exchange (FX) infrastructure as well as its market connectivity capabilities with TriOptima’s triReduce compression product – a joint partnership was originally established back in October 2015.
Consequently, the end result is the capacity for counterparties to better reduce the gross notionals of their respective outstanding portfolios absent of any changes or schisms across their market positions. Since late 2015, the service has been completing successful compression cycles for FX forwards and Swaps transactions.
Over the past year and a half, participation in the compression cycles has also seen steady growth, with the two most recent rounds reducing notional principal by more than $200 billion. Moreover, TriOptima is slated to roll out an upgraded service that will likely be available in 2017 – this will help foster additional net exposure reduction by adding new, offsetting trades.
CEO of CLS, David Puth
Such an upgrade will be important for prime brokers and dealers, as it can help achieve significant risk reduction and manage their Leverage ratios effectively. According to David Puth, CEO of CLS, in a recent statement on the compression cycles: “This is a significant milestone for the compression service which has shown substantial growth over the last year, both in the number of participating banks and in the amount of notional reduced.”
“The enhancement to the service will create additional value for our clients, enabling them to further improve their leverage ratios and significantly reduce risk in the FX market,” he added.
“This new service enhancement is a great win for our clients who will now be able to both compress trades and offset exposure with new trades where required, all in the same cycle,” noted Peter Weibel, CEO of triReduce.
