Philippe Chambadal, the president of SmartStream, is on a mission to bring the utility model to securities operations.
(Editor’s Note: In the forthcoming FTF Focus magazine edition that features in-depth coverage of the FTF News Technology Innovation Awards, we are featuring a profile of Philippe Chambadal, the president of SmartStream, who was voted FinTech Person of the Year. As we found out in this teaser version of the profile, Chambadal shows no sign of slowing down.)
Philippe Chambadal, president of SmartStream
Industry veteran Philippe Chambadal, president of post-trade solutions provider SmartStream, is on a mission to bring the utility model to post-trade securities operations, which is likely why voters chose him as Fintech Person of the Year, a key honor of the 2016 FTF News Technology Innovation Awards.
Chambadal’s win was in addition to voters naming the company Best New Post-Trade Solution for the Buy Side (for SmartStream’s Centre of Excellence offering).
In fact, SmartStream received a record 10 nominations for its accomplishments in 2015.
Chambadal attributes SmartStream’s strong showing in the awards race to the vendor staying on the forefront of the regulatory space and offering clients innovations such as the utility approach to post-trade services that mutualize costs for end users. This approach also helps end-user firms improve their balance sheets and realize new efficiencies, he says.
Chambadal, who is also the CEO of The SmartStream Reference Data Utility (RDU) business unit, cites the biggest achievement for SmartStream in 2015 as securing the support of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley for the RDU.
In October of last year, the three major institutions joined forces with SmartStream to become clients and supporters of a utility that provides services for instrument reference data normalization and validation across asset classes. The SmartStream RDU, also known as Securities Product Reference Data (SPReD), is intended to give clients “a multi-tenanted, auditable environment for data collection, cleansing, and change management,” according to the vendor.
To create that environment, RDU clients use integration standards so that they can customize security master databases. The goal is to provide “consumers of instrument data across capital markets” with savings and more operational SmartStream officials added.
“Our three bank members have embraced the utility model to ensure that the duplication of effort is minimized when addressing common market issues such as inconsistent data in regulatory reporting, costly trade breaks, and risk management,” Chambadal said in a statement when the three banks announced their embrace of the RDU service. The utility model for post-trade operations is popular and has gotten the support of other industry heavy hitters.
The big boost for the RDU was significant for the industry because it marks a moment when “three major banks, some of the best in the industry,” moved away from a typical internal approach and to a mutualized service, Chambadal tells FTF Focus.
“I think it’s a sign of a new trend emerging of basically the banks recognizing the costs they have are not sustainable,” Chambadal says. When it comes to post-trade services that do not add competitive advantage, “the only way forward is for banks to start cooperating with other banks.”
Note: Also be sure to check out Chambadal’s video interview with FTF News at the awards gala where he further discusses SmartStream’s recent achievements.
Click Here to Enjoy the Special 2016 Awards Issue of FTF Focus — Read & Download Today!
Need a Reprint?
