Kas Bank to report European trades to REGIS-TR ‘exclusively’

European trade repository REGIS-TR has signed up Kas Bank as its first client to report derivatives trades on behalf of market participants.

European trade repository REGIS-TR has signed up Kas Bank as its first client to report derivatives trades on behalf of market participants.

REGIS-TR, owned by central securities depositories Clearstream and Iberclear, is one of at least five organisations that have applied for a trade repository (TR) licence as a result of the European market infrastructure regulation (EMIR), which requires OTC derivatives trades to be reported to a TR and centrally cleared.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has yet to issue trade repository licences, with the first expected to be given in June. Iberclear is owned by Spain's BME Group while Clearstream is a subsidiary of Deutsche Borse.

KAS Bank, a Dutch provider of securities, risk control and reporting services in the pensions and securities industry, picked REGIS-TR based on its projected needs and requirements, according to Mark van Weezenbeek, managing director of sales and business development.

"We have a huge client base and that's why we had all our studies and have looked at different providers. We feel confident they can deliver whenever the reporting becomes mandatory," he told theTRADEnews.com.

Weezenbeek said the bank was not looking at partnering with other trade repositories at the moment.

"For now we are only going to do business with REGIS-TR. If there are sufficient reasons to add alternatives, we'll add them but I don't expect that for now - it's an exclusive partnership," he said

Nicolas Boatwright, deputy managing director of REGIS-TR, said a number of market participants had tested its reporting systems ahead of derivatives rules changes.

"By launching our test environment well in advance of the start of ESMA's new regulations we have truly given market players the tools they need to ensure they are fully compliant with ESMA's technical standards," he said.

"This is reflected in the 250% increase in participants to our test environment in the last three months."

Other TR hopefuls include the London Stock Exchange Group's platform UnaVista, ICE Trade Vault, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation and CME Group.

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