The following key drivers could contribute to increased demand for collateral in the future:
- Mandatory clearing of OTC derivatives (EMIR)
- Increased capital and liquidity requirements for banks and insurance companies
- Basel III and Solvency II
- The possibility to establish a secured interbank market in Norway
- Increased use of REPOs
Increased liquidity requirements may lead to a shortage of high-quality securities that will be eligible as collateral, which calls for effective systems to optimize the utilization of available collateral.
The purpose of a collateral management service is to provide more efficient and cost-effective collateral in relation to new requirements and regulations that the market will have to accomodate. VPS may have a role in the Norwegian market as a supplier of a collateral management service. A service that will contribute to the simplification of the posting of collateral related to financial transactions, may again result in improved liquidity and risk mitigation. We believe it will be important to establish a central service with a neutral party like VPS. For local companies and NOK exposures, VPS could be a natural choice. The cooperation with CBL may also attract international players with cross border transactions.
VPS works actively with these issues and we hope we can contribute to an efficient market offering in the future.