Wednesday, June 30, 2010

ICE Enhances Market Surveillance

IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE: 114.77 +0.89 +0.78%) last week announced an agreement with SMARTS, the global leader in market surveillance systems. IntercontinentalExchange owns and operates an Internet-based global electronic marketplace for trading in futures and over-the-counter (”OTC”) commodities and derivative financial products.
 
According to the agreement, SMARTS will set up a real-time market surveillance platform known as “SMARTS Integrity Platform”, which will work in tandem with IntercontinentalExchange’s present market monitoring activities across all of its global futures exchanges.
 
SMARTS Integrity Platform will have a full range of standard and customized trading alerts to detect the prohibited trading activity. The transaction, which falls within the definition of prohibited trading, is determined by US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (”CFTC”) and UK Financial Services Authority (”FSA”) regulations.
 
SMART will have its second largest derivatives exchange customer in IntercontinentalExchange which, through its subsidiaries, operates across over 55 countries in the United States, the United Kingdom Asia and Canada.
 
With the implementation of this technology, IntercontinentalExchange will see an increased customer confidence with respect to secure and safe trading. The exchange has chosen SMART due to its proven functional strengths, global reach and technical solution fit.
 
IntercontinentalExchange develops and offers a diverse array of products and a broad range of risk management services including trade execution, market data, pre- and post-trade processing and clearing services on an integrated platform. Additionally, the company’s electronic trading platform benefits the market participants with price transparency and price improvement over alternate means of trade execution. Electronic trade also offers time and cost efficiency by providing firm-posted prices and reducing trade-processing errors and back-office overheads. This enhances new product development and also provides competitive advantage to the company.
 
IntercontinentalExchange has demonstrated immense growth potential in its futures and OTC markets. Moreover, the worldwide market for futures, commodity and credit derivatives appear to be in an expansion mode, which bodes well for the bourse.



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