Settlements Associate

Posted 03 June 2021
Salary £50000 - £51000 per annum
Location
Job type Permanent
Discipline Banking Operations
ReferenceSettlements1_1622723505
Contact NameWill Goodman

Job description

My client a corporate securities and investment bank based in the heart of the city are looking to hire a Settlements Associate within their growing Operations team.

The Operations department provides all operational support functions for the Company's businesses such as fixed income trading and sales, Japanese and European equity trading and sales, Treasury management, FX and Derivative transactions, agency lending and other new business lines developed by the Company. Operations plays a key role in delivering an optimal, full-spectrum service for all clients and is structured by product and aligned to support all businesses as appropriate in trade capture, reference data, cash management, securities and cash reconciliation, transaction processing, money transfer, income processing, tax reclaims, collateral, client valuations, and confirmations. In addition to the day to day workflow, it also supports all of the ongoing business projects within the Company as well as any new product development with the business lines in conjunction with other control units and Mizuho International's Information.

Main Responsibilities include:

  • Ensure all Bond and Equity trades settle on a timely basis; within Euroclear, Asian, European and US Markets as directed by Line Manager.
  • Late shift work for USD Settlements between 19:30-20:30 working remotely from home as and when required and pre-agreed with line manager. Individual is allowed to leave office early in order to support. Monitoring of fails/settlements for DTC and UST markets and arranging covering for any DK'd trades where appropriate to ensure any negative cash balance is covered.
  • Declaration and processing of transactional taxes: UK & Irish Stamp, Financial Transaction Tax.
  • Assist with processing of interest claims and fail charges.
  • Implement ideas across the department; with an aim to reduce manual processes and improve automation
  • Project work as required and contributing to the department's project slate.
  • Respond to internal and external trade enquiries in a timely manner.
  • Cross train and cover other departments/team members across the Operations as and when required.
  • Participate conduct relevant SOX Testing and audit work (internal and external).
  • Operate within the defined process controls and procedures, proactively seeking out any risks, escalating and providing ideas to remediate
  • Liaise with counterparties/clients to resolve all trade settlement issues
  • Monitoring of fails/settlements for relevant Domestic Markets / Euroclear;
  • Escalate any settlement issues to the correct distributions immediately keeping relevant departments in the loop
  • Ensure timely responses to client queries sent by email/ phone communication, providing a good client experience
  • Carry out reconciliation investigation on all relevant items with a one-day deadline (using TLM for cash and stock breaks);
  • Liaise with Cash Management and traders to resolve failed trades, bond settlement issues and general operational risk.

Experience Required:

Essential

  • Solid experience within Investment Banking Operations.
  • Extensive coverage of standard operational tasks.
  • Minimum 3 years of experience of settlements of Euroclear, Asian, European and US securities markets.
  • Reconciliations experience.
  • Expert understanding of securities markets, their deadlines and challenges from settlements perspective.

Desirable

  • Experience and execution of agent-bank Nostro migrations.
  • Involvement in UAT Testing for project delivery and involvement of requirements and specifications for new business initiatives and relevant projects.
  • Awareness, understanding and appreciation of upcoming CSDR Changes in Feb 2022.