Instinet, a global agency-brokerage owned by Nomura Holdings, has secured membership on the ASX Settlement and Transfer Corporation (ASTC), the settlement processing facility of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Instinet Australia Clearing Service Pty, a subsidiary of Instinet, has been clearing and settling client trades for the last three months. According to Instinet, the membership will complement the Australian trading services it offers to clients via Instinet Pacific, based in Hong Kong.
Instinet Pacific has had full remote membership to the ASX in September 2007, allowing it to offer direct execution of ASX-listed securities via its Newport execution management system, alternative trading platforms, global algorithms and agency-only services.
“This development builds upon the success we’ve seen in offering execution services to the Australian market, with robust volumes making it economically prudent to self-clear and in the three months since we have been self-clearing we have delivered significant cost savings to our clients,” said John Fildes, managing director, Instinet Pacific. “Additionally, given the recent and upcoming increases in capital requirements for Australian clearing participants, we will be able to leverage our strong capital base to offer third-party clearing services to other ASX participants.”
“Finally, with the prospect of competing Australian marketplaces, clearing and settlement may also become more complex, and having our own operations will enable us to respond efficiently to any changes in the market,” added Fildes.