CHICAGO & WASHINGTON, November 6, 2008
SunGard’s GMI, a clearing and accounting system for exchange traded derivatives, futures and options, now supports Nodal Exchange and is ready to be deployed by clearing members in anticipation of the launch of Nodal Exchange in early 2009. Nodal Exchange is the first electronic commodities exchange dedicated to offering locational (nodal) products and services to participants in the organized North American electric power markets.
Mitigating counterparty risk and improving market transparency through the adoption of a centrally cleared model for trading contracts are key elements to reducing systemic risk in financial markets. Through its support of Nodal Exchange, SunGard’s GMI helps financial institutions achieve transparency with a single platform for listed derivatives and energy processing.
Ann Sacra, president and chief operating officer of Nodal Exchange, said, “We are pleased that SunGard’s customers will now be able to support clearing on Nodal Exchange. Cleared transactions have become even more important in today’s credit environment and we are looking forward to our introduction of cleared nodal contracts in 2009.”
SunGard is now able to deliver programs and detailed documentation for testing and implementation of Nodal Exchange on GMI. SunGard customers who plan to participate in this market can now begin preparing and testing the GMI software for implementation.
LCH.Clearnet will be the Central Counterparty (CCP) clearing all trades on Nodal Exchange. Clearing trades through LCH.Clearnet will help significantly reduce counterparty risk, increase market quality and liquidity, allow post-trade anonymity, and reduce participants’ operating costs through the use of multilateral settlement netting. SunGard’s GMI contains comprehensive functionality to support LCH.Clearnet clearing on Nodal Exchange for clearing members of LCH.Clearnet.
Gerry Murphy, president of SunGard’s brokerage and clearance business, said
“SunGard brings a range of expertise in energy and commodity trading, processing and consulting to the energy industry. SunGard’s work with Nodal Exchange offers support for our customers as clearing members and extends the wide spectrum of listed derivatives coverage on SunGard’s GMI platform.”
About Nodal Exchange, LLC
Nodal Exchange, launching in early 2009, will be the first independent electronic commodities exchange dedicated to offering locational (nodal) forward trading products and services to participants in the organized North American electric power markets. Nodal Exchange will build on the success of the existing Regional Transmission Organization (RTO/ISO) day-ahead markets through the development of cash-settled forward nodal/zonal auctions that will enable participants to effectively manage basis and credit risk. The Nodal Exchange platform will also accept for clearing bilateral OTC transactions submitted by participants and brokers. Nodal Exchange is an independent, privately held company. For more information, visit nodalexchange.com.
About SunGard’s GMI
A clearing and accounting system for global exchange-traded derivatives, futures and options, GMI supports the activities of clearing firms, securities firms, brokerage houses, and other participants in derivatives trading, such as multinational agriculture and energy companies. GMI links to exchanges worldwide for access to pricing updates, margins and risk arrays. Customers use GMI to help eliminate manual processes and consolidate data in a single integrated accounting system, control costs and increase competitiveness.
About SunGard
With annual revenue of $5 billion, SunGard is a global leader in software and processing solutions for financial services, higher education and the public sector. SunGard also helps information-dependent enterprises of all types to ensure the continuity of their business. SunGard serves more than 25,000 customers in more than 50 countries, including the world’s 50 largest financial services companies. Visit SunGard at www.sungard.com.
Trademark Information: SunGard, the SunGard logo and GMI are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Contact Nodal Exchange:
Nicole Ricard
Tel: 703-962-9816
Email: ricard@nodalexchange.com
Contact SunGard:
Adriana Senior
SunGard
Tel: 718-578-1130
Email: adriana.senior@sungard.com
