Ken Harvey
Chairman of the Board Independent / Outside Director
Chairman’s statement
As we enter our 20th year of service, I am pleased to report that the company has never been in a better position to support the foreign exchange market. The model of being mutually owned and globally regulated remains unique among asset classes and is proving to be exceptionally effective.
The standardization of settlement processes, combined with operational excellence, has created a product suite that reduces settlement and operational risk. In recent years, the liquidity benefits CLSSettlement provides have proved to be as powerful as its risk mitigation, with a netting efficiency of 96% on average and more than USD6 trillion on average settled each day.
“The liquidity benefits CLSSettlement provides have proved to be as powerful as its risk mitigation, with a netting efficiency of 96% on average and more than USD6 trillion on average settled each day.”
As a technologist, my final Chair’s statement would not be complete without reflecting on our platform. In 2021, we completed the final step of our eight-year journey to replace all our legacy technology. The last few years of this transformation were particularly challenging as we ran the legacy system in parallel with the new platform. As projected, this cautious approach to testing resulted in a material strain on our financials. However, the performance and efficiency of our new technology infrastructure will pay dividends in the decades to come.
Our engineering team accomplished numerous objectives in the rewrite, including extending our ability to deliver scale with no latency and achieve our medium-term resilience goals. Our efforts were validated at the end of 2021 when we reached our highest ever single day settlement of USD15.4 trillion in December.
In addition, CLSNet, the payment netting calculation service we launched to address currencies that are not eligible for settlement in CLSSettlement, doubled the gross volume submitted during the year. This was despite several large institutions delaying onboarding due to the pandemic. These firms have re-engaged with energy in 2022 and this service will be a key investment area for us.
You will find a more detailed progress report on our operational and financial performance in Marc’s and Trevor’s messages.
I want to recognize our talented Board for their extraordinary efforts. The combination of Shareholder Representatives and Outside Directors creates a depth of knowledge that is truly unique.
Marc, the Executive Management Committee and the broader team have delivered market leading innovation with stellar quality throughout a turbulent couple of years. Their dedication, focus and creativity are core assets to CLS.
Finally, I am pleased to announce that Gottfried Leibbrandt has been nominated to succeed me as Chair. I have really enjoyed my decade of service to CLS and have been honored to be your Chair for the last eight of those years. Gottfried is extremely well-positioned to take CLS to the next level. He brings a wealth of ecosystem experience, having served as the CEO of SWIFT. We have been actively transitioning for six months and you can expect great things to come.
Kenneth Harvey
Chairman of the Board
