SecFinex Announces Dates for Centrally Cleared Securities Lending in European Markets

The NYSE Euronext company is developing an anonymous platform for trading and central clearing of securities lending transactions.

SecFinex Limited, an NYSE Euronext company, released dates for the introduction of a centrally-cleared services for stock borrowing and lending on the SECFinex Order Market.

SecFinex central counterparty (CCP) service, covering equity markets in Belgium, France, Netherlands and Portugal, will incorporate LCH.Clearnet as the central clearer, starting on June 19, 2009.

SecFinex CCP services for equity market sin Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, will utilize SIX x-clear, and will be introduced, pending regulatory approval, on Sept. 15,2009.

SecFinex CCP service for UK equity markets, with EuroCCP acting as the central clearer, will follow by the end of 2009.

According to SecFinex, the company is providing alternatives to OTC trading. The value proposition for CCP in securities lending will include eliminating multi-entity counterparty risk and increasing capital efficiency, according to SecFinex in the release. It is expected to enhance market transparency, eliminate the need for multiple participant agreements and provide full straight through processing. It is also expected that an electronic, anonymous centrally cleared marketplace for stock loan transactions will broaden market participation and motivate competitive market pricing.

“Access to a transparent exchange-based marketplace like the one SecFinex operates, incorporating live and executable prices, introduces the concept of trading securities at the best market price,” stated Peter Fenichel, CEO of SecFinex in the release. Since NYSE Euronext made the initial investment in March 2007, SecFinex has been working to develop solutions that enable the trading and central clearing of securities lending transactions, Fenichel added in the release. Fenichel noted that market standards and disciplines will result from utilizing its anonymous market, which will benefit the evolution of securities finance.

Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio