Lloyds and Swedbank have become the latest shareholders of CLS, which brings the total number to 72 shareholders.
The latest announcement follows the arrival of Santander, which in December became the 61st settlement member. CLS say that both Lloyds and Swedbank have been third-party customers of CLS for a number of years and plan to become direct settlement members in due course.
Alan Bozian, CEO and president of CLS, says: “We are delighted to welcome both Lloyds Banking Group and Swedbank to our enlarged shareholder group. The addition of two significant shareholders underlines the continuing interest and focus on risk reduction. We look forward to working closely with both banks to achieve settlement member status.”
Anders Henrikson, head of global FX at Lloyds, adds: “As our clients look to increase their access to the foreign exchange market, eliminating settlement risk has become a major focus for us, and adopting a robust operational infrastructure will further support our risk management systems.”
Tomas Hedberg, head of FX and fixed income at Swedbank, says: “We are delighted to be joining CLS, which is in line with our ambition to further develop our FX abilities. CLS provides us with a high level of security, which is crucial for a major player in the finance industry.”