London, New York and Singapore – Markit (Nasdaq: MRKT), a leading global provider of financial information services, today announced the launch of a new service that enables banks to affirm FX trades executed by inter dealer brokers.  Seven inter dealer brokers and eight banks have signed to use the service, which expands Markit’s centralised solutions for the FX market.

Affirming over the counter trades through a centralised service reduces operational risk and replaces paper or voice based processes to check the accuracy of trade data.  The MarkitSERV FX Broker Affirmation service provides a platform for banks to consolidate trade notifications from multiple inter dealer brokers and validate transaction data before they are processed into trading and risk systems.

David Perkins, managing director of Electronic Broking EMEA at Tullett Prebon, said : “We are delighted to have collaborated with Markit on the development of this service. Our adoption of this service underscores our commitment to meeting the needs of our clients in what is a rapidly evolving market environment. This new service will further enhance our strong franchise within the foreign exchange market.”

Robin Wemyss, global head of FX Options at J.P. Morgan, said : “Centralising trade affirmation for OTC FX is an important step in improving post trade operations.  Trade execution in FX is fragmented across multiple brokers and other venues and we welcome innovation such as this that helps us consolidate systems and streamline operations.”

Chris Leaver, managing director and head of business development for MarkitSERV FX, said : “Managing industry processes such as trade affirmation using a central network helps the FX market reduce complexity, cost and risk.  By connecting participants and standardising trade management workflow, MarkitSERV helps firms scale their businesses, become more efficient and remain operationally resilient as the FX market grows.  We are pleased that the industry has supported our work in FX options management, clearing NDFs and now cross-product trade affirmations.”

Broker Affirmation covers FX spots, forwards, swaps, non-deliverable forwards, non-deliverable swaps, vanilla options, non-deliverable options, barrier options and digital/binary options.  The service can also be used when multiple products are combined in strategy trades.

The service uses FpML messaging and facilitates trade reporting and clearing obligations.

In FX, Markit offers customers a comprehensive solution including venue connectivity and STP services, trading services, trade confirmation and management, clearing and regulatory reporting. Markit’s FX network includes dealers, brokers, asset managers, 75+ trading venues, trade reporting facilities, and clearinghouses.

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For further information, please contact:

Alex Paidas
Markit
Director, Corporate Communications
Telephone: +1 212 205 7101
Email: alex.paidas@markit.com

About Markit

Markit is a leading global provider of financial information services. We provide products that enhance transparency, reduce risk and improve operational efficiency. Our customers include banks, hedge funds, asset managers, central banks, regulators, auditors, fund administrators and insurance companies. Founded in 2003, we employ over 4,000 people in 11 countries. Markit shares are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol MRKT. For more information, please see www.markit.com .

For more about MarkitSERV FX, please see http://www.markit.com/Product/MarkitSERV-FX