Risk management has never been more important for the clearing industry-an industry that must do more to understand clients.
Those are the opinions of Al Caiazzo, First Clearing Correspondent Services chief quality control and risk officer, who is the new chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Market Association’s Clearing Firms Committee.
“The biggest issue firms face is in knowing who we are doing business with and making sure it is a good risk,” Caiazzo said. They key for a clearing brokerage is to ensure it has the right client both “from a servicing and a risk management perspective.”
Caiazzo, a 30-year veteran of the industry, has a two-year appointment as chairman of the SIFMA committee.
SIFMA’s Clearing Firms Committee initiates and comments on legislative proposals that affect clearing brokerages. It also provides a forum for clearing brokerages to share new ideas, according to SIFMA.
“At a time when regulatory requirements are changing and becoming increasingly complex,” Caiazzo added, “it is essential that financial services firms stay up to date and vigilant.”
And what issues will the committee concentrate on to stay current?
Caiazzo said the large trader ID regulation, which partly went into effect in 2012, will have further implementation steps this year, and the consolidated audit trail and cyber security and information will be among the issues the committee reviews.
