Dodd-Frank seems to be the flavor of the day. Everyone is keenly interested and we at ZE are too. I was in Houston last week co-hosting a Dodd-Frank Lunch and Learn with WGC. I’m pleased to say the event was a great success! The event was held at Willy G’s Seafood and Steaks on Post Oak Boulevard and we were fortunate to have a strong turnout from the industry for what was an engaging discussion on the impending Dodd-Frank regulations and the requirements for meeting them.
James Yu, Managing Director of ETRM and Dodd-Frank at WGC, highlighted WGC’s expertise in the Dodd-Frank processes. He detailed how they are supporting clients by assessing their current trade set-up and equipping them to make the necessary changes to enable accurate reporting of their swap data and OTC transactions.
Waleed El-Ramly, COO of Product Development at ZE, showcased how ZE has added to our ZEMA platform to facilitate the Dodd-Frank process and reporting needs. Inherent in ZEMA is a range of business automation capabilities that lend themselves well to meeting Dodd-Frank business process requirements.
I’d like to give a special mention to our guest speakers: Mike Prokop, Director at Committee of Chief Officers, Erin Hunzeker, VP at Commodity Specialist DTCC and Craig Enochs, Partner at Jackson Walker L.L.P. They each shared their own on-the-street insight of the inner-workings of defining the legislation and the difficulties end-users and swap-dealers are having with compliance. Interestingly, they noted that as a corporation, categorization into one of these streams is difficult and requires subjective analysis around the associated costs, risks and benefits.
I believe guests walked away with a better understanding of the Dodd-Frank legislation, in theory and in practice and were also reassured as to how we can help them deal with the changeover.
Thanks to everyone that attended and to Willy G’s for serving a delicious lunch!