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DTCC: EuroCCP Names Chief Officers
Will Be Ready to Clear Nasdaq Europe Trades in Fourth Quarter
London and New York, October 3, 2001 - Jeffrey H. Smith has been named Chief Executive Officer and Bernard M. Till Chief Operating Officer of European Central Counterparty Limited (EuroCCP), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Each has more than 30 years experience in international financial services
.On September 14, 2001, EuroCCP received recognition from the FinancialServices Authority (FSA) as a U.K. Recognised Clearing House. EuroCCP,headquartered in London, was created to deliver a seamless, low-costcross-border clearing and settlement solution for transactions executed onNasdaq Europe in both European and U.S. securities.
Smith's career has included various overseas assignments, while Till hasplayed a key leadership role with the London Stock Exchange and in majorEuropean industry forums.
"Jeff Smith is an outstanding manager with strong internationalcredentials and a wealth of experience in dealing with financial servicesorganisations in Europe and Asia," said Jill M. Considine, chairman &CEO of DTCC. "Bernie Till has extensive experience in developing andmanaging central clearing and settlement systems and is certainly well-known andrespected in the U.K. and Europe. We are confident these two men will provideexceptionally capable leadership for this new organization."
Smith said EuroCCP will be ready for operation in the fourth quarter of thisyear, and he and his team will be working with Nasdaq Europe to bring potentialparticipants on board over the coming months.
"We have completed testing of our technology platform, and riskmanagement and operational systems to support EuroCCP. Over the next few months,we will take part in a series of road shows with Nasdaq Europe, meeting withEuropean-based firms that we hope will be participants. Marketing, participanttesting and implementation will continue through next year," Smith added.
Smith said he believed the new clearing organisation would facilitate growthin cross-border trading. "It will allow for centralised clearing of tradingactivities and settlement in home depositories, where settlement liquidity isgreatest, substantially reducing the fail rate for cross-border trades," headded.
The development of EuroCCP came in response to the launch of Nasdaq Europeearlier this year. Nasdaq Europe's vision for its pan-European marketplaceincluded the introduction of a seamless clearing and settlement solution,designed in conjunction with market participants, to significantly reduce theoperational costs, inefficiencies and risk associated with cross-bordertransactions. After considering various service providers, Nasdaq Europeselected DTCC to develop this CCP solution, based on its experience andsophisticated post-trade processing and risk management capabilities.
EuroCCP will offer users a range of benefits including:
- Low cost clearing and netting services for Nasdaq Europe members.
- Fast, efficient cross-border clearing and settlement of transactions in both European and U.S. equities.
- A trade guarantee to ensure settlement and eliminate counterparty risk, ensuring that the buyer receives the securities and the seller receives payment.
- Netting to decrease the number and value of trade obligations requiring settlement, helping to reduce settlement costs.
- Settlement in a security's home depository, where settlement liquidity is greatest.
- Advanced risk management techniques, adding safety and stability to cross-border transactions.
Along with his role as CEO of EuroCCP, Smith will continue as a managingdirector of DTCC's International Services Division. He is responsible forleading the development of international products and services for DTCC'ssubsidiaries, including cross-border settlement, asset servicing and taxreporting activities. He also has overseen the development and servicing oflinks with central securities depositories (CSDs) worldwide. Smith has relocatedto London from New York.
Prior to joining DTCC, Smith served as executive vice president andinternational treasurer for Daiwa Securities America, Inc., where he wasresponsible for all international treasury-related functions for the firm.Before Daiwa, he spent 20 years with Salomon Brothers, where he last served asdirector and assistant treasurer in the Global Treasury Department, co-ordinatinginternational funding activities. Smith began his Wall Street career withHerzfeld & Stern in 1964, serving as vice president and head of securitiesoperations.
Till, an International Services Division vice president based in London, hasbeen involved in DTCC's initiatives related to the improvement of cross-bordersettlement and global straight-through processing. He also led efforts to createa seamless global clearing infrastructure, co-authoring a white paper on commonstandards, best practices and interoperability among CCPs globally.
Before joining DTCC, Till worked at the London Stock Exchange, where he wasinstrumental in the development and implementation of all U.K. centralsecurities settlement services including Talisman, Institutional Net Settlementand the Central Gilts Office. He also was responsible for the introduction ofrolling settlement in the U.K. and the transition of central settlement toCREST.
About DTCC: The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), with operating facilities in multiple locations in the U.S. and overseas, is a holding company for six subsidiary businesses - a depository and five clearing corporations - as well as the co-owner with Thomson Financial of a global joint venture called Omgeo. Through its subsidiaries, DTCC provides clearance, settlement and information services for equities, corporate debt, municipal debt, government securities and mortgage-backed securities in the U.S., and emerging markets debt trades globally. It is also a leading clearinghouse for mutual funds and insurance products, linking funds and carriers with distribution networks. In addition, DTCC provides custody and asset servicing for more than two million securities from the U.S. and 84 other countries. For more information on DTCC, see www.dtcc.com.
Nasdaq Europe, which is a subsidiary of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc has beendesigned as a true pan-European exchange. Its unique structure and independencefrom any national market place make it a perfect fit for innovative companiesand forward looking investors across Europe and beyond. The market operates on apan-European basis, with a unified infrastructure including a single Rulebook, asingle membership, a dedicated trading platform, and a seamless link tocross-border settlement. For more information, see www.nasdaqeurope.com.
Note: For additional information on EuroCCP participation, please contactJeff Smith at +44 (0)20 7444 0415 or Bernie Till at +44 (0)20 7444 0402.