SA has evolved from being assessed as embodying the worst settlement risk among emerging markets into one described by international benchmark assessors as "the most sophisticated", says Strate CEO Monica Singer.
Speaking at the Strate conference in Johannesburg yesterday, Singer said Strate was exploring new products and services with a view to achieving full utilisation of the infrastructure embodied in Safires (Southern Africa Financial Instruments Real Time Electronic Settlement), the heart of Strate's system.
"Strate will strive to serve all financial markets in order to achieve savings to market players from the full utilisation of the system. This will ensure that risk management across markets and cross-consolidation between instruments can be achieved," she added.
Speaking at the same conference, Grant Nelson, head of SCMB's lending desk, said the number of borrowers and lenders of JSE-listed securities had trebled in the past year, and this was largely due to Strate.
"Automated messaging, along with enhanced risk management made possible by the introduction of Strate, has generated higher SLB [securities lending and borrowing] productivity and trading," Nelson said.
Also boosting SLB activity was the decline in the average fee income exposure on lending from 1.75% in 1997 to the current 0.90% on normal stock.
He predicted that the average net open loan position, R20 billion last year, would rise to R30 billion this year.
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