Dealers disclose goal of matching trades on trade date in letter to NY Fed

Eighteen dealer banks disclosed targets, strategies and major benchmarks aimed at streamlining and improving operational efficiency within the credit and equity derivatives markets in a letter today to Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Timothy Geithner, reports Dow Jones. A stated goal was matching trades on a trade date. A target for 2008 was consistent use of electronic confirmation platforms for eligible trades. The banks also are optimistic about settling trades through a centralized process by September.

Separately, Isda said it would work with market participants to achieve a more fully automated and scalable marketplace. It also added today that Isda and its membership have been discussing the incorporation of Isda's off-the-shelf credit derivative settlement auction mechanism into Isda's documentation. It plans to review the industry's status on this matter in May 2008.