ISDA

A technically demanding remit which required scalable, flexible resource to meet the client’s evolving needs, provided through IBAM’s Project Resourcing solution.

IBAM Consulting were instructed by an American multinational investment bank on an ISDA project, in response to standards imposed by regulators such as BASEL and IOSCO for dealing with asset management clients.

In addition, all consultants were payrolled by IBAM, providing the client with a full 360 results based solution.

This would require the negotiation and construction of a large number of very specific, complex, and often unique, legal agreements with each asset management client the bank intended to work with.

Due to the aggressive timescale and sheer volume of work required to comply with the regulations, two teams were created with clearly defined skill sets to deliver for each project work stream, which also allowed for short notice periods and a flexible, roll-on roll-off approach.

IBAM quickly build up a team of eight highly technically specialist consultants to support the two distinct  work streams across different asset classes, covering ISDA generalist legal negotiation and review and secondly an Initial Margin Model delivery team.

The ISDA team were tasked with preparing and negotiating a range of Institutional Securities Documentation for the OTC Derivatives Business, focusing on Master Trading Documentation for a variety of derivative products which involved ISDA, Credit Support Annex, GMRA, CDEA, Side Letters, amendments and ancillary documentation, across a diverse range of clients.

The ISDA Initial Margin Model team would focus on Master Trading Documentation for a variety of derivative product, working closely with internal stakeholders to negotiate legal terms and respond to internal and external questions, reviewing and agreeing relevant constitutional documents.

Project Resourcing

The project was successfully implemented using our Project Resourcing solution. This delivers flexible access to expert skills as and when needed, offering rapid deployment time and a better price point than traditional consultancy models. In addition, all consultants were payrolled by IBAM, providing the client a full 360 results based solution.

As these were very niche roles in a technically demanding area, the only strategy that would yield results would be to map the major banks and headhunt experienced SMEs, capable of supporting business both in the UK and Germany, with the requisite language skills.

A weekly contact session with the two key line managers as well as the team was implemented to ensure smooth onboarding and assimilation. This also enabled IBAM to anticipate the client's workflow requirements, so that consultants were ready on standby as each project was scaled up.

The project was delivered on time and within pre-agreed budgets, with all consultants receiving contracts extensions as a result of their success to support the client's ongoing plans for 2020 and beyond.