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T + 1 War Rooms – Asia :
The T + 1 War Room initiative , launched by Global Custodian and The ValueExchange in partnership with Citi , Delta Capita and Xceptor , brought together industry experts to share their experiences , challenges , and successes in navigating the critical shift to T + 1 in Asia Pacific . The rollout has been characterised as “ cautiously positive ”.
While the shift to T + 1 and subsequent adoption around the world has been hailed a huge success , part of the War Room initiative was to unearth any issues and one issue around automation and affirmations did arise during the discussion .
While automation has streamlined many processes , some manual interventions were still necessary to handle exceptions and ensure smooth operations . One expert from a data automation platform said , “ The general level of preparedness having automated a lot of these processes early on , has put them in a better place for this [ T + 1 ] to go live .” This highlighted how firms in Asia have maintained additional resources to monitor and address any issues that may arise , ensuring stability during the initial phase of the transition .
One product manager shared that when the affirmations dropped 91-92 % on 31 May , it was likely due to time zone differences , especially for affirmations from Asia , where staff might not be as available on Saturday mornings to meet US Friday evening deadlines .
They said : “ You won ’ t have someone sitting in the office in Asia on Saturday morning trying to meet the US Friday evening deadlines , and as a result there ’ s a slight drop in affirmations and matching . I think if affirmations were still being supported manually , and you just didn ’ t have staff in the office during Saturday morning APAC hours , then that would pose a challenge to some degree .”
Another capital markets consultant chimed in , stating , “ There ’ s probably a little less automation than people admit , especially with the vendors .” They emphasised the need for consistency in covering Friday evening and Saturday morning , raising questions about the willingness to maintain this level
‘ There ’ s probably a little less automation than people admit ’
The transition to T + 1 in Asia Pacific has been described as ' cautiously positive ,' with events unfolding as anticipated , though a drop-off in affirmations through not meeting US Friday evening deadlines may suggest less automation than previously thought .
of commitment . Furthermore , they highlighted the importance of identifying gaps in automation , suggesting that neglecting Saturday morning operations is not an option .
UNVEILING CHALLENGES AND AFFIRMATIONS The War Room kicked off with a discussion on the survey results , revealing insights into the challenges faced across various operational areas in the APAC region . From affirmations to FX execution and funding gaps , participants shared their experiences , rating the severity of challenges on a scale from one to five . Interestingly , while challenges were acknowledged , the majority expressed confidence in their operational preparedness , mirroring trends observed in Europe and North America .
According to the survey results , most respondents reported performing better than expected in trade affirmations , with 25 % indicating an improvement . Additionally , 25 % of respondents reported better-than-expected performance in manual exception handling . These findings suggest that many participants have exceeded their initial expectations in these areas , reflecting proactive measures and effective strategies implemented to navigate the challenges of the T + 1 transition in Asia .
Despite initial concerns about readiness , the panel noted that the APAC region was perceived as the least prepared for the transition to T + 1 . However , the positive
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