The launch plan was quickly accelerated to ensure that the platform was capable of handling a significant increase in volumes.
Caja de Valores, Argentina’s Central Securities Depository (DCV), has announced the launch of a new technological platform using Nasdaq’s Central Securities Depository technology. This platform significantly enhances Caja de Valores’ ability to meet immediate operational and performance needs, safeguard the future of the business, and position itself to take advantage of new growth opportunities.
The launch is the final outcome of a significant and multi-year change program, which started with Caja de Valores recognizing the potential benefits of modernizing its inherited infrastructure to support the ongoing growth and institutionalization of Argentina’s capital markets.
According to many countries around the world, Argentina’s capital market has experienced periods of substantial increases in volumes, which has put additional pressure on the technological infrastructure of the sector. The market growth has led to the Caja de Valores technological platform operating efficiently at its maximum capacity, requiring a rapid acceleration of the launch schedule. The main platform went live in September 2023, with more asset classes and additional functionalities incorporated before its formal launch in January 2024.
The new platform significantly improves the strength, capacity, and speed of the CSD, capable of processing over 1,000 settlements per second, over 300 times faster than the previous system. Its scalable architecture will ensure that the platform can continue serving the Argentine market as it continues to grow.
The company has experienced average daily transactions of 700k, with peaks of 865k. This represents a 49% increase in the monthly average compared to the period before the launch of the new system, due to higher business volumes generated by the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (BYMA), owner of Caja de Valores.
Gonzalo Pascual Merlo, CEO of BYMA, stated:
“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 provide the necessary infrastructure for this to happen and to help transform investment into prosperity and growth.”
He added :
Just like many countries around the world, Argentina’s capital market has experienced periods of significant increases in transaction volumes, putting pressure on its technological infrastructure. At BYMA, we have prepared ourselves for this scenario with a new custody system that meets the needs of our market.
Magnus Haglind, Senior Vice President and Head of Market Technology at Nasdaq, stated:
CSDs play a crucial role in the heart of the capital markets ecosystem and increasingly require an agile infrastructure to address incoming regulations, adapt to changing market conditions, and take advantage of emerging growth opportunities. The development of a global CSD infrastructure is essential to keeping pace with the ever-evolving investment landscape. With much of the post-trade industry operating on legacy technology, we welcome the opportunity to partner with Caja de Valores and support the ongoing development of Argentina’s capital market.
Technology provides standardized protocols for seamlessly connecting both commercial and third-party compensation solutions, as well as internal solutions, and will benefit from regular updates to ensure it stays at the forefront of international standards and best practices. This will significantly reduce the time to market for new asset classes, event types, and services, and incorporate customized connections for existing services. Non-standard instruments, a specific asset class in Argentina, are still being serviced in the old system, but Caja de Valores plans to migrate these instruments to the new platform during the first quarter of 2024.
Nasdaq’s Technology Business in the Market is one of the largest providers of market infrastructure technology worldwide. They offer solutions for multiple assets to over 130 markets, CCPs, CSDs, and regulators in more than 50 countries. Their technology provides reliable and scalable support throughout the trading cycle, helping organizations improve efficiency, transparency, and liquidity with unmatched resilience.
