FIA Tech today announced a further funding round of US$25.4m, led by six existing shareholders (Bank of America, Barclays, Citi, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo) and BNP Paribas, which brings its total funding to almost US$70m.
Owned by a consortium of 11 clearing houses and the Futures Industry Association (FIA), FIA Tech is a key technology provider to the exchange traded derivatives industry. The newest investor, BNP Paribas, will join FIA Tech’s ownership consortium and serve on its board of directors.
“We are thrilled to join the board of FIA Tech, a firm we have worked closely with over the years,” said Raphael Masgnaux, head of global technology platforms for global markets at BNP Paribas. “Technology is a central pillar of BNP Paribas’ GTS 25 (Growth Technology Sustainability) Strategic Plan, and the TDN initiative promises to deliver a pivotal platform for the ETD industry.”
Funds raised will be used to accelerate the development of the Trade Data Network (TDN), an initiative that provides a shared ledger of trading information to address the fragmentation and lack of transparency in exchange traded derivatives (ETD) post-trade processing. The successful rollout of TDN is also expected to help reduce clearing delays for brokers and overall costs. The TDN initiative currently includes 16 banks/brokers and 40 investment managers and hedge funds with combined assets under management of over US$37trn.
The initial rollout of TDN is focused on allocations processing and trade confirmations, with trade lifecycle transparency across the multiple brokers and the clearinghouse on each trade. Additional features include benchmarking, metrics tracking and reporting to drive best practices across the ecosystem. The initiative is also designed to drive value for the independent software vendor (ISV) community by reducing complexity in delivering services to clients.
In 2021 FIA Tech announced its Series A investment round of $44 million to fund the spin-off of the firm and advance FIA Tech’s efforts to bring innovative solutions to the derivatives industry. Original investors included ABN AMRO Clearing, Bank of America, Barclays, Citi, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Wells Fargo.
“We are delighted that BNP Paribas will be supporting us on our next stage of development and equally pleased at the support from our existing investors to launch the Trade Data Network,” said Nick Solinger, president and CEO of FIA Tech. “TDN has already proven its operational resiliency for participants in recent times of high market volumes and volatility.”
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