CIC teams are pleased with LexiFi’s automation opportunities and support services.
In the summer of 2012 CIC Market Solutions selected LexiFi Apropos as the main system to develop its structured investment activity. LexiFi Apropos was acquired at a pivotal phase in the development of CIC Market Solutions’ Structured products activity. The bank has switched from manual workflows across multiple tools to automated tasks in a single centralized system.
"“The efficiency and accuracy of LexiFi’s support has been quite impressive.”
Franck Yange, Head of Structuring at CIC Market Solutions
Product monitoring: the full view
LexiFi Apropos allows to precisely record product terms and conditions and automate both document and report generation such as term sheets, performance reports, lifecycle events and notices. The bank has automated product monitoring activities thanks to the software alert system. The Structuring team has taken full advantage of LexiFi Apropos reporting tools creating personalized views to match their needs. Besides, LexiFi Apropos is the team’s main tool for pricing and valuation, it allows to calibrate and use the several models needed for CIC’s cross-asset activity.
Examples of frequently used reports:
Automated regulatory reporting
CIC Market Solutions team sends daily independent valuation reports for life-insurance-related products. The bank also creates similar bi-monthly regulatory reports for other frequently traded products. LexiFi Apropos has allowed a full automation of both reports. A few clicks allow to fetch data, calculate prices, and produce report files in the right format. The team then cross-checks results before uploading the reports to the relevant platform.
Easier collaboration between teams
"The collaboration with other teams at CIC is smooth and efficient as we all have access to the same LexiFi pricing and reporting tools. We easily exchange files and discuss results on the same basis."
Maxime Allemann, Structurer at CIC Market Solutions
Reports dedicated to CIC Treasury Department have been automated with LexiFi Apropos with the help of LexiFi Product Specialists. For example, CIC structuring team has put in place a report detailing products’ early redemption probabilities at different maturities. This report is automatically updated turning a heavily manual task into an automated reporting routine.
CIC Market Solutions’ Risk department has been delighted with the possibilities that LexiFi Apropos offers. Discussing results with the Structuring team has been efficient thanks to the centralized information, the easy access to data and the use of the same pricing tools. More specifically the software allows for:
Audit and validation of quantitative models
CIC quantitative team regularly audits LexiFi’s valuation models as these are used for the bank’s main issued products. CIC quants perform an annual analysis of the models and their assumptions. This includes independent recalibration of formulas as well as pricing and benchmarking analyses.
When asked about the main strengths of LexiFi’s pricing models, CIC quantitative team has provided five main points:
- A large choice of models implemented for all assets classes
- Available documentation and references for each model
- Direct communication with LexiFi’s quantitative team
- Almost every payoff can be booked easily
- The speed of the calibration and pricing
"We have access to a large choice of pricing models in LexiFi Apropos for all asset classes. Plus, pricing and calibration are fast, well documented and easily audited!"
Jordan CHU, Quantitative Analyst at CIC Market Solutions
QUICK FACTS
Name: CIC Market Solutions
Industry: Capital Markets
Structured EMTN product assets: €6.7 bn as of December 2021
Website: https://www.cic-marketsolutions.eu/fr/index.html
ABOUT CIC MARKET SOLUTIONS
CIC Market Solutions, the unit of CIC that handles commercial market activities for clients of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale. Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale is one of the best-rated banking establishments in Europe. The group provides expertise in all areas of banking, insurance, and electronic payments to foster long-term, quality relations with its members and clients. CIC Market Solution focuses on: equity and bond primary market solutions; services for issuers and financial communication advisory services; execution and sales solutions on capital markets; Structured EMTN, Cigogne alternative offer; custody services; and economic and strategy research as well as credit and equity research.