Tuesday, July 23, 2013

COMDER Selects Calypso to Power New Chilean OTC Derivatives CCP

San Francisco – July 23, 2013 – Calypso Technology Inc., the leading integrated capital markets software provider, today announced that COMDER Central Counterparty, has selected Calypso to provide the core clearing platform for a new central counterparty (CCP) for OTC derivatives created by a consortium of Chilean banks.

In response to G-20 mandated OTC derivatives reforms and standardization, a group of Chilean banks led by COMDER is building a new OTC derivatives CCP. This new CCP will begin clearing non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) in Q4 2014 and interest rate derivatives (IRD) in Q1 2015. The CCP will be powered by Calypso for novation, affirmation, registration, limits, initial and variation margins, collateral management, default management and trade repository.

According to Felipe Ledermann, CEO of COMDER, “Calypso is the ideal partner for us given the firm’s proven expertise and experience in OTC derivatives central clearing. COMDER benefits from Calypso’s ability to efficiently implement a best-in-class platform and offer ongoing maintenance and support.”

“We see Calypso as a strategic partner for one of the most important projects in the Chilean banking industry. This initiative allows us to build a best-in-class CCP with the highest standards and align with BIS-IOSCO principles for Market Infrastructures,” Ledermann added. “Also, the commitment to the project given by Calypso´s President and CEO, Mr. Kishore Bopardikar, has played an important role in building a strong relationship between the two companies to meet this important challenge.”

Calypso provides vital OTC derivatives clearing and processing infrastructure to the world’s top clearing houses, including CME, Eurex, BM&FBovespa, TSE, SGX, HKEX and ASX. The Calypso Clearing Solution provides full cross-asset coverage, manages each step in the clearing process and provides visibility into risk for cash and OTC derivatives products on a single, highly scalable platform.

Kishore Bopardikar, President and CEO of Calypso Technology, commented, “We are excited to provide a world-class solution that will enable the Chilean market to move to a centrally cleared derivatives environment. Calypso has established a leading role in global OTC clearing and we are  pleased to be supporting COMDER in the development of such an important platform for the country.”

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Riyad Bank Chooses Calypso for Front-to-Back-Office Support


  • Key factors in the bank’s selection include Calypso’s straight-through-processing capabilities and Islamic finance coverage
London, July 09, 2013 — Calypso Technology, Inc., the leading integrated treasury and capital markets software provider, has been selected by Riyad Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, to provide treasury operations and structured product front-to-backoffice support. The Calypso system will be rolled out cross-asset in the bank’s operations to support structured products and hedge accounting. This selection marks a major win for Calypso in Saudi Arabia, a leading centre in Islamic finance.


Riyad Bank, looking to update front-to-back-office systems and operations, will change from a process based operating model to a more efficient exception-based one, significantly improving its straight-throughprocessing (STP) rate. Additionally, the bank will align its treasury operations with international and Islamic financial industry standards. Calypso will support the cross-asset requirements of the bank’s business covering its FX (cash and derivatives), money market, interest rate derivatives, fixed income and commodities (including precious metals and derivatives) operations.
Key factors in the selection were Calypso’s cross-asset, flexible solution with its enhanced operational capabilities and high level of STP.
Riyad Al-Zahrani, EVP Operations at Riyad Bank, said, “It was important for us to select a vendor that would deliver industry best practices, front-to-back-office support for structured products and cross-asset capabilities as well as the Shariah-compliant support that is critical for our market and for growing the business regionally. We went through a robust selection process during which Calypso outperformed other solutions in areas of functionality, flexibility and technology.”
Charles Marston, Chairman and CEO of Calypso, states, “We look forward to working with Riyad Bank, a key Saudi Arabian financial institution and market leader. Calypso remains committed to servicing the Middle East and Saudi Arabia in particular, a principal centre in Shariah finance. The region is of increasing importance in global finance and we are pleased to be a part of this dynamic and vibrant marketplace.”

About Riyad Bank

Riyad Bank is one of the largest financial institutions in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, with a strong corporate and retail banking franchise. Mobilizing its substantial capital base and with decades of expertise to assume a leading role in all areas of Saudi finance, Riyad Bank is a leading financier and arranger of syndicated loans in the oil, petrochemicals, and most of the Kingdom’s notable infrastructure projects.
Riyad Bank offers its clients an accessible network of more than 251 branches with 80 dedicated ladies sections and 20 self-service electronic branches within the Kingdom. The bank has also kept its lead in the ATMs network, as the number of multi-functional ATM's exceeded 2,600 machine distributed in strategic & carefully selected locations.
Offices in London, Houston, and Singapore help the Bank support the international banking needs of its clients.
Riyad Capital [Riyad Bank’s investment banking arm] is a leading player in the IPO advisory business and asset management in Saudi Arabia, having won numerous investment awards in categories ranging from “best mutual performance” to “best fund manager.”