15th November 2018
Dublin, 15 November 2018 - Quaternion Risk Management Ltd., a leading Irish risk analytics firm, supported by Enterprise Ireland, and AcadiaSoft Inc., the leading industry provider of global margin and collateral automation solutions, have announced the formation of a strategic partnership. Quaternion Risk Management will create 20 new jobs as a result of this partnership and through investment by Enterprise Ireland.
AcadiaSoft moves, on a daily basis, over $400bn of collateral in total. Initially, the partnership will focus on helping firms with non-centrally cleared derivatives portfolios meet the operational and regulatory challenges associated with Initial Margin (IM) requirements that started to come into effect in 2016. The initiative couples Quaternion’s extensive quantitative expertise and AcadiaSoft’s proven capabilities in market standard applications allowing clients to access a range of services via the secure environment of the AcadiaSoft Hub.
Commenting at this morning’s announcement, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD said, “I welcome this announcement by Quaternion that will see the specialised services of two leading companies come together to enhance their business offerings and create highly-skilled jobs in Dublin. As outlined in IFS2020, the Government’s action plan for international financial services, the fintech sector in Ireland is a significant contributor to our economy and Quaternion is an example of a company providing an innovative product offering and leading the charge in this space. The growth and development of the international financial services sector has been one of the highlights of Ireland’s economic development and Ireland now has a world class fintech sector of both multinational and Irish-owned companies. My Department, through Enterprise Ireland, is committed to supporting companies like Quaternion on their growth trajectory, and I wish the team every success.”
“Combining AcadiaSoft’s existing infrastructure with our risk analytics tools presents opportunities to create new products that will greatly benefit both the smaller players in the non-centrally-cleared market facing near-term hurdles, as well as larger, established institutions looking to reduce spend on functions that have become ‘business-as-usual’ and could now be more efficiently outsourced and standardized,” said Donal Gallagher, Chief Executive Officer at Quaternion. “We believe that the expected growth of our partnership has and will continue to allow us expand our workforce - from 30 people to some 50 people in 2020”.
Commenting, Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said, “To scale in international markets, Irish companies must be innovative and competitive, and the strategic partnership between Quaternion Risk Management and AcadiaSoft combines both attributes and is a result of both companies’ strategic vision for growth. I welcome Quaternion’s announcement that the company will create 20 new highly-skilled jobs in a rapidly growing sector in Ireland. Our team at Enterprise Ireland has supported Quaternion for several years to enable the company to realise its global ambition, and I look forward to continuing our work with them as they embark on this new endeavour.”
Background on IM
On September 1, 2016, the largest banks that trade non-centrally cleared derivatives were required to post and collect IM and to standardize their collateral terms and processes due to a new margin framework established by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Every September since (and until 2020), those requirements will affect a growing set of sell-side and buy-side firms that are captured by the thresholds defined by those rules.
About Quaternion
Quaternion Risk Management (“Quaternion”) is a Dublin headquartered capital markets consulting practice advising on and implementing complex projects with a focus on the quantitative aspects of risk management, trading and finance. Quaternion has worked with some of the world’s leading financial institutions. The firm’s headquarters is Dublin with offices in London, Dusseldorf and New York. Quaternion partners with Columbia University on systemic risk projects and launched Columbia University’s Fintech Lab in late 2016. opensourcerisk.org is Quaternion’s open source contribution to the risk community.
Quaternion is an Enterprise Ireland supported firm.
Press contact:
Donal Gallagher
Quaternion Risk Management
+353 1 678 7922
donal.gallagher@quaternion.com
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