The Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) has selected HSBC as settlement bank for its Foreign Exchange (FX) Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) trades. HSBC is the settlement member for ABC and is expecting to process over 20,000 eligible FX transactions annually. The first transaction was processed on July 29, 2003.
ABC's CLS steering committee included representatives from the bank's FX operations, audit, risk management and legal departments. The selection process included an evaluation of prospective CLS settlement members', systems architecture and functionality, service reputation, pricing and liquidity, as well as implementation support and business continuity capabilities.
CLS, an industry initiative to reduce settlement risk caused by time-differences in the settlement of FX trades, was launched on September 9, 2002. In addition to eliminating settlement risks, CLS is designed to streamline payment processing and give members more efficient use of capital and liquidity in their trading and credit facilities.
ABC, established in 1980, is headquartered in Manama, Bahrain. Its strategy of diversified growth led to the development of its ABC Group network of branches, representative offices, subsidiaries and affiliates in over thirty countries around the world, including most principal international financial centers.
The ABC Group provides a wide range of banking services, with branches focusing principally on wholesale commercial and corporate banking and trade finance services. ABC's subsidiaries concentrate largely on exploiting opportunities in domestic retail and merchant banking sectors, while its affiliates offer specialised financial services.
HSBC is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East. HSBC Bank Middle East has 29 branches throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Autonomous Area, including an offshore banking unit in Bahrain.
The bank's regional coverage is strengthened by another member of the HSBC Group, HSBC Bank Egypt, and by its associated companies, the Saudi British Bank and British Arab Commercial Bank. In addition to its Middle Eastern network, the Bank has a representative office in Tehran, Iran. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
