REGIS-TR
Jesús Benito
12 October 2021
Jesús Benito, vice-chairman of REGIS-TR and the CEO of Iberclear, updates SFT readers on the future direction of REGIS-TR, following SIX Group’s acquisition to become sole shareholder of the trade repository and controlling shareholder of BME-Iberclear
Image: Jesús Benito
Launched in December 2010 as a 50:50 joint venture between Clearstream, part of the Deutsche Börse Group, and Iberclear, part of the BME Group, REGIS-TR has become one of the largest European trade repositories serving more than 2,000 clients across four reporting regimes in Europe.
In June 2020, SIX became the new controlling shareholder of BME/Iberclear. This was a natural inflection point for both shareholders to REGIS-TR’s future ownership model and to take the company into the next chapter of its growth and development. On 3 September this year, contracts were signed confirming that SIX would acquire Clearstream’s 50 per cent share and become the sole shareholder of REGIS-TR when the deal closes, scheduled for the first half of 2022.
We asked Jesús Benito, CEO of Iberclear, to clarify some of the key questions surrounding this deal and what this means for the future of REGIS-TR.
What form did negotiations take that led to the announcement of the transaction?
The negotiations were smooth and an agreement was quickly reached. There has always been an excellent relationship between both shareholders which pre-dates the 10-plus years we have been working together as partners in REGIS-TR. The agreement suited the strategic priorities of both shareholders and we agreed that the interests of REGIS-TR and its clients would be best served by single ownership under SIX.
Deutsche Börse Group will, of course, continue to use REGIS-TR as its preferred provider for all TR reporting requirements within its group companies and there will be multiple touch-points between both entities.
I will also pay testament to the professionalism and expertise of my colleagues within Deutsche Börse Group who, together with our team, have taken REGIS-TR from the initial concept to the leading market infrastructure that we are today.
In an environment where we have seen TRs like Bloomberg, CME/NEX-Abide and UnaVista withdraw services, what were the driving factors leading to SIX wanting to become sole shareholder?
This is a scale business and REGIS-TR is amongst the leading TRs in Europe, having processed more than 20 billion trade messages since the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) went live in 2014. SIX already operates the largest TR under the Swiss FinfraG regime, so we believe there are natural synergies that we can benefit from across the group.
The acquisition underpins the value and opportunity that SIX sees in REGIS-TR as a highly complementary business within their securities services division. There is still significant potential for further growth and to be able to deliver a suite of leading and streamlined services to clients across Europe. Although the joint-venture has been highly successful, single ownership under SIX will give us even more agility as we look to take REGIS-TR to the next level.
What has been the reaction of your clients?
REGIS-TR has always had an extremely client-centric approach and our best-in-class service support has always been fundamental to our product delivery. So, we stay very close to our clients in ‘business as usual’ mode and in helping them to navigate the changing landscape. Our client teams have been speaking to our clients and the reaction has been universally positive.
What will be the impact to clients when this deal completes?
On a day-to-day level, clients will see no adverse impact or disruption to operations or service support. This is a highly technical and niche business and SIX recognises the value in the expertise working for REGIS-TR, who will continue to service our client base as before. We will be utilising the same technology, meaning that there is no operational transition and there will be no impact on contracts or fees arising from this deal.
In the medium-to-long term, clients will benefit from the SIX’s strategic vision for this business and the additional agility that having a sole shareholder will bring.
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