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The Banker - Innovation in Technology Awards 2009

Category: Innovation in Clearing and Settlement Technology Winner: Credit Suisse Project: OTC Documentation Optimisation Project

London, UK - 28 May, 2009

By late 2007, Credit Suisse's derivatives business was confronting several challenges in its documentation workflow processes for trade confirmations: its existing system was unable to differentiate between confirmable and nonconfirmable events or determine the confirmation method to the required degree of accuracy. In addition, the existing back-office source of trade data was incomplete, constraining opportunities to fully automate processes. The business also lacked a consolidated view of the external confirmation status of trades, and the existing system only held records of outstanding confirmations, making it very complex to manage operational risk across the whole portfolio. Meanwhile, the entire legacy system had hit its capacity limit.

In response to these challenges, the bank undertook a programme of work to overhaul its existing documentation platform. Using Thunderhead, an enterprise product for document automation and multi-channel  communications, as the critical document generation component of the project, the bank re-engineered  its front-to-back business processes and systems.

More efficient documentation and operational risk management processes have delivered major benefits to the derivatives business, including a significant reduction in the headcount required to support the credit DTCC outgoing confirmation process. An impressive 100% of credit DTCC trades now source trade data directly from the strategic front-office system, removing the reliance on two other legacy operations systems for these trades. The bank has experienced a 10% improvement in automation rates, a 50% reduction in DTCC manual workflow corrections, and has dramatically improved its system capacity. The implementation also offers real-time updates to traders and middle-office staff on trade matching through the DTCC, enabling the business to manage operational risk more effectively.

“We are delighted to receive this award,” says Stuart Mangan, director and global head of OTC confirmations at Credit Suisse. “It acknowledges the technical innovation and tangible business impact of the OTC documentation optimisation project. In addition to being delivered on time and on budget, the project has already reduced processing costs and operational risk noticeably. It has improved client service and has made our application infrastructure more agile and therefore better able to cope with changing business needs.”