27 May 2008
 

London and New York, NY – Markit, a leading provider of independent data, portfolio valuations and Over-The-Counter (OTC) derivatives trade processing, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of SwapsWire, the electronic trade confirmation network for the OTC derivative markets.  Markit expects to complete the full integration of the company by July this year.

According to data from the latest Markit Metrics report¹, trade confirmation backlogs in credit derivatives stabilised in the first quarter this year to approximately 6,000 trades per dealer per month relative to average monthly trading volumes of 25,000 trades per dealer.  However, with OTC derivative markets continuing to grow at a rapid pace, market infrastructure will remain a key concern among regulators.

Jeff Gooch, Executive Vice President, Co-Head of Trade Processing and Head of Valuations at Markit, said: “The combination of the Markit and SwapsWire trade processing platforms gives us critical mass and a global network at a time of increased consolidation in the vendor market.  As the industry focuses on cost reduction and improved risk management, the efficiency and scalability of the SwapsWire platform will become even more valuable.”

Chip Carver, Executive Vice President and Co-Head of Trade Processing at Markit, said: “We are enjoying record growth driven by increases in adoption of the platform and growth in trading volumes across the industry.  By bringing SwapsWire and Markit together, we are able to offer market participants the powerful tools they need to overcome operational challenges.”

The integrated Markit Trade Processing (MTP) services have been re-branded as follows with immediate effect: 

• Markit Trade Manager (previously MTP) provides comprehensive cross-asset class trade workflow and reporting services for buy-side clients, including links to Markit Wire and DTCC Deriv/SERV
• Markit Tie Out, which forms part of Markit Trade Manager, allows buy-side and sell-side firms to affirm the key economics of trades on trade date
• Markit Wire (previously SwapsWire) is a trade date legal confirmation service with real time messaging and trade resolution
• Markit PBWire is a widely used trade acceptance service for prime brokers and their counterparts
• Markit PortRec is an award-winning portfolio reconciliation service.
  
  

The addition of SwapsWire’s workforce brings Markit’s global headcount to over 650 employees.  Chip Carver, SwapsWire’s Chief Executive, will join Markit’s executive team as co-head of MTP, based in New York.  Jeff Gooch, co-head of MTP, is based in London.

Markit acquired SwapsWire from Bank of America, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Barclays Bank, Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Citigroup, Natixis, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank Plc, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Mizuho Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Societe Generale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and UBS Investment Bank.

 - Ends -

For further information, please contact:

Teresa Chick
Managing Director, Corporate Communications
Markit  

Tel: +44 20 7260 2094                                                   
Email: teresa.chick@markit.com

Caroline Lumley
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Markit

Tel: +44 20 7260 2047
Email: caroline.lumley@markit.com

About Markit

Markit Group Limited (“Markit”) is a leading provider of independent data, portfolio valuations and OTC derivatives trade processing to the global financial and commodities markets. The company receives daily data contributions from 90 dealing firms, and its services are used by almost 1,000 institutions to enhance trading operations, reduce risk and manage compliance.

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