DTCC to Enhance Payment Processing Service for Credit Default Swaps.

NEW YORK -- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced today sweeping enhancements to its payment processing services in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives area.

The enhancements will be launched next month for credit default swaps and will provide a central payments database (including flexible on-line reconciliation), bilaterally agreed netting, and ultimately, settlement of netted amounts in multiple currencies.

The original matching service, which was launched last February, has been growing at an extremely rapid rate, over 50% quarter to quarter, with in excess of 260,000 payments processed in September. DTCC expects the enhancements contained in the new service to further grow the number of users.

"This move by DTCC to further streamline derivative payments processing through a central payments database and centralised netting and settlement represents a significant advance for the industry," said Mark Beeston, COO, integrated credit trading at Deutsche Bank.

"Given the rapid growth in the credit default swap market, it has been one of our top priorities this year to establish a central payments database that will streamline the cash flow matching process," said John Stewart, head of Credit Operations Europe at JPMorgan Chase.

Mary Ambrecht, managing director for Citigroup and head of its derivatives operations, said, "We believe that this is an exciting step forward in the growing automation of OTC derivatives and we support this effort to automate and simplify payments for OTC derivatives."

"I think these enhancements to DTCC's OTC derivatives payment processing service have been something that the whole industry has been looking for. When implemented, the payment service will help ensure tighter control and risk reduction in a rapidly growing area. The DTCC system will foster continued growth of this market with appropriate controls and monitors in place," said Matt Redshaw, senior managing director at Bear Stearns.

Jeff Gooch, managing director at Morgan Stanley, said the new system "represents a major step forward in achieving the goal of making payment processing for credit default swaps a seamless, risk free process. We applaud the effort by DTCC."

Peter Axilrod, DTCC's managing director, New Business Development, noted that the payments service has also been attracting the attention of major buy-side firms. "A number of major buy-side firms have been using the current service," he said, "and we expect the use to rise substantially once the enhanced service is made available."

The enhanced service can also accommodate payments for all OTC derivatives and is not limited to credit default swaps.

"Although the enhancements will be used by firms initially for credit default swaps, the enhanced service can accommodate all OTC derivatives and provide the same benefits to the broader OTC derivative market that it is providing to the credit default swap market," said Djerizza Weisz, DTCC product manager for the payment processing service. "We were very careful in designing the service with our dealer user group to make sure that the enhancements would accommodate all OTC derivatives without the necessity of further work on our part."

Bilateral netting is the adding and subtracting of all the financial obligations between two trading parties that results in a single net payment that is to be made. It differs from multi-lateral netting principally in that it does not need to disturb the credit relationships between the parties. With multi-lateral netting, either a central clearing or processing organization will take on the financial risk of one party failing to pay, thus providing a form of credit intermediation, or else the net will have to be entirely undone if one party fails to pay.

About DTCC

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), through its subsidiaries, provides clearance, settlement and information services for equities, corporate and municipal bonds, government and mortgage-backed securities and over-the-counter derivatives. DTCC's depository also provides custody and asset servicing for more than two million securities issues from the United States and 100 other countries and territories. In addition, DTCC is a leading processor of mutual funds and insurance transactions, linking funds and carriers with their distribution networks. DTCC has operating facilities in multiple locations in the United States and overseas. For more information on DTCC, visit www.dtcc.com.