Argentina’s Central Securities Depository (CSD) has successfully launched its new technology platform

Rapidly accelerated launch timetable secures the platform’s ability to meet significant increase in volumes

Caja de Valores, Argentina’s Central Securities Depository (CSD), announced it has launched a new technology platform using Nasdaq’s CSD technology. The platform significantly enhances Caja de Valores’ ability to meet immediate operational and performance needs, future proof the business, and position it to capture new growth opportunities.

The launch is the culmination of a multi-year, major change program, which began with Caja de Valores recognizing the potential benefits of modernizing its legacy infrastructure to support the continued growth and institutionalization of Argentina’s capital markets.

In line with many countries around the world, Argentina’s capital market has been subject to periods of substantial increases in volumes which has placed additional strain on the sector’s technology infrastructure. Growth in the market had resulted in Caja de Valores’ technology platform effectively operating at full capacity, necessitating a rapid acceleration of the launch timetable. The core platform went live in September 2023, with more asset classes and additional functionality incorporated ahead of its formal launch in January 2024.

The new platform significantly enhances the resilience, capacity, and speed of the CSD, capable of processing more than 1,000 settlements per second, more than 300 times faster than the previous system. Its scalable architecture will ensure the platform is able to continue serving the Argentine market as it continues to grow.

The company has experienced daily average transactions of 700k, with peaks of 865k. This represents an increase of 49% of the monthly average compared to the period prior to the launch of the new system, due to higher business volumes generated by the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (BYMA), the owner of Caja de Valores.

Gonzalo Pascual Merlo, CEO of BYMA, said: “We are proud to take this historic step for the custody of the Argentine capital market, which is the result of great teamwork within BYMA and Nasdaq. As an organization, we are committed to the development of the Argentine economy and the growth of the country. For this reason, we constantly invest in world-class technology to offer the infrastructure required to make that happen and help transform investment into prosperity and growth.”

He added: “Like many countries around the world, Argentina’s capital market has been subject to periods of substantial increases in transaction volumes, which has put pressure on its own technological infrastructure. At BYMA we have prepared for this scenario with a new custody system which responds to the needs of our market.”

Magnus Haglind, SVP and Head of Marketplace Technology at Nasdaq, said: “CSDs play a vital role at the heart of the capital markets ecosystem and are increasingly demanding agile infrastructure to respond to incoming regulations, adapt to changing market conditions, and capitalize on emerging growth opportunities. The development of global CSD infrastructure is vital to keep pace with the rapidly changing investment landscape. With much of the post-trade industry running on legacy technology, we welcome the opportunity to partner with Caja de Valores and support the ongoing development of Argentina’s capital market.”

The technology offers standardized protocols to seamlessly connect to both third party and in-house trading and clearing solutions and will benefit from regular upgrades to ensure it remains at the forefront of international standards and best practice. It will significantly reduce the time-to-market for new asset classes, event types and services, and incorporates bespoke connections for existing services.  Non-standard instruments – an Argentinian specific asset class – continues to be served on the old system, with Caja de Valores planning to migrate these instruments onto the new platform during the first quarter of 2024.

Nasdaq’s Marketplace Technology business serves as one of the world’s largest market infrastructure technology providers, providing multi-asset solutions to more than 130 marketplaces, CCPs, CSDs and regulators in over 50 countries. It offers reliable and scalable technology across the trade lifecycle, helping organizations to drive efficiency, transparency, and liquidity with unparalleled resiliency.

Source: Nasdaq