[ W E E K 1 ] trade affirmation rates observed following the implementation suggest a different narrative .
The high rates indicate that major efforts have been made to consolidate processes , automate tasks , and adopt self-affirmation models . These proactive measures have evidently contributed to the improvement of affirmation rates , highlighting the effectiveness of the collaborative efforts undertaken to address challenges and enhance operational efficiency in the region .
As one speaker noted , “ The good news is that everyone seems to be not really experiencing any problems . So that ’ s consistent with what we ’ ve seen across Europe , as well as the US or North America at this point .”
PREPARATION AND HIGH-TOUCH SUPPORT Preparation emerged as a recurring theme throughout the discussion , with Asiabased firms emphasising the importance of establishing dedicated war rooms and mobilising resources to address anticipated challenges . From global command centres to localised operational hubs , the focus was on ensuring hightouch support and responsiveness to queries .
Phillip Van Dine , APAC head of banks & market infrastructure at Citi , shared insights into their approach about their past week across their Asia operations since the implementation of T + 1 in the
US , stating , “ We ’ ve brought people from Asia to our primary T + 1 command centre to ensure we had a high touch approach because we expected a number of queries to come in and we wanted to make sure we had the right level of responsiveness . We anticipated some credit liquidity challenges , so we made sure that we enhanced our monitoring and implemented short-term credit increases where needed . Our affirmation rates and settlement rates were as expected . The transition to-date has been relatively smooth .”
Van Dine added , “ After a week , we ’ re ready to move into our new BAU processing . We ’ re still going to maintain a certain level of resources , just until we ’ re comfortable that the whole market has shifted because we ’ re still seeing some residual questions from clients .”
ADAPTING TO THE NEW NORMAL Client and investors have further detailed their initial experiences amidst the T + 1 transition , ranging from adjusting operational schedules to embracing automation . An investor on the panel mentioned that since the T + 1 live date , their main goal has been adjusting their booking schedule to get people to start work slightly earlier .
They said , “ At this point in time , we ’ re focused on staffing to cover the hours , but we hope to implement automation gradually , considering our manageable volumes . The main adjustment of working hours is what is helping us get through the data process at this point in time .”
In response , a Van Dine added , “ We ’ re still seeing some clients sending in their actual settlement instructions beyond the cut-off time . We expect some clients to adjust their operating hours to accommodate the new cut-off times . However , we ’ re communicating with those clients to highlight where they ’ re missing cut-offs , ensuring settlements are managed efficiently ”.
Another fintech said , “ For our clients it ’ s generally been smooth . I think overall , it ’ s rolled-out better than expected , but it ’ s still kind of early days , so people are kind of watching what ’ s going on . The general level of preparedness having automated a
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