IHSMarkit.com – LONDON – IHS Markit Ltd. (Nasdaq: INFO), a global leader in critical information, analytics and solutions that drive economies and markets worldwide, today announced new levels of automation for the syndicated loan market through enhancements to its WSO software and services.

In a significant advance for the loan market, WSO’s new version 12.2.1 is the first portfolio management system to fully integrate with Markit’s trade settlement platforms to dynamically update positions when loan trades settle.  The new version also handles complex requirements for cross border lending and enhances amortization reporting for specialty lenders.  More than 300 asset managers and agent banks use WSO to manage over $1 trillion in loan assets.

Tom Gough, managing director and head of Portfolio Control at CIFC Asset Management, said: “The ability of WSO to automatically update our trades with settlement data from ClearPar will help streamline the post-trade process and make us more efficient.  We welcome these upgrades to WSO, as they enable us to continue to scale our platform.”

Klaus Vilsen, head of Loan Management & Loan Agency at Danske Bank, said: “We believe that the new multi-currency functionality in WSO will help us provide a high level of service to clients active in multiple countries and regions.  WSO is a global platform and the flexibility it offers will enable us to service a variety of syndications and grow our agency business throughout Northern Europe.”

Mark Schultis, head of WSO at IHS Markit, said: “The new WSO suite is the singular asset management toolset for seamless integration with automated loan settlement, functionality to manage the complexity of today’s syndications and the ability to service demanding reporting requirements like effective interest.  We developed these technologies in partnership with our customers to provide them with the systems they need to operate efficiently in today’s market and focus on what really matters – creating alpha for investors.”

Straight through processing of loan trades
New levels of integration between WSO and Markit’s Loan Settlement platforms (ClearPar and Markit Clear) enable auto-settling of trades in WSO, creating unprecedented efficiency and accuracy for lenders and third party customers, such as custodians and trustees.  WSO now processes contracts, fee information and other critical trade details from the settlement platform to update, reconcile and supplement trade data in WSO.

New functionality assists global players
New capabilities help agent banks and lenders operate across borders and manage multicurrency loan portfolios.  Specifically:

Multi-borrower tracking: borrower designation is now available on the bank deal, facility and contract level to accurately track multiple borrowers under a parent issuer.  Separate wire instructions and notification recipients can be designated for each unique borrower to ensure all communication and payment instructions are sent to the appropriate parties.

Multicurrency term loans: users can now seamlessly track complex facilities that are funded in more than one currency.  FX fluctuations can be tracked with activity based FX adjustment records in order to keep base commitment unchanged.

Multiple holiday calendars: users can specify calendars for different countries, regions and/or currencies at both the asset and contract level to ensure holidays are accounted for properly.

Multicurrency wire instructions:  separate wire and payment instructions can be assigned at the portfolio, issuer and bank deal level per currency, allowing WSO to seamlessly integrate with internal or external wire systems and borrower platforms for cash transactions and activity notification.

Enhanced calculations and reports for constant yield
Unique functionality from WSO calculates constant yield compatible with all security types, including floating rate securities with unscheduled prepayment options.  Business development corporations and middle market lenders subject to amortization requirements benefit from these tools for complex amortization/accretion reporting.