Consulting Practice Area

Middle Office & Operations

“Over recent years the Middle Office has become a more complex function, moving away from the traditional trade support model and into the role of data guardianship. Alongside this, many firms are under increased pressure to cut costs, whilst still supporting the business, maintaining effective controls and meeting regulatory demands.”

 

The primary function of a Middle Office is control, however there are several other benefits from having effective Operations and Middle Office functions, such as improved efficiency, cost reduction and improved data quality. An effective Middle Office can improve first line of defence controls, helping banks manage day-to-day risks.

At New Link Consulting, we leverage our consultant's experience and knowledge of Middle Office functions and processes to create an operating environment that supports strategic goals, regulatory requirements and the demands of the business.  

What We Do

New Link Consulting’s Middle Office & Operations practice comprises of industry practitioners with first-hand experience of managing and successfully executing large scale and complex change initiatives in the Middle Office and Operations functions across the financial service industry. 

We offer a breadth of services to the Middle Office and Operations functions that enable our clients to improve efficiency, comply with regulations and improve risk management.

  • Trade Controls (Design / Improvement): Assist in the review and implementation of key controls, ensuring consistency across asset classes and geographies, reducing the effort required for downstream investigations and supporting with more timely resolution of issues. 
  • Control Governance: Design of robust control governance framework and develop management information to continuously monitor non-financial risks and control effectiveness.
  • Current State Review / Risk Assessment: Identify opportunities to create operating efficiencies by focusing on reducing risk, increasing control and optimising efficiency through people, process and technology.
  • Data Governance: Establish a framework for data management to improve adherence and responsiveness to current and future regulations. Delivering tooling that can be used to identify data quality issues and drive continuous improvement to ensure that data consumers receive timely, accurate, complete and secure data. 
  • Regulatory Reporting: Identify regulatory reporting requirements, implementing a framework to ensure there is full oversight of the trade lifecycle to fulfil reporting obligations. 
  • Business Architecture Design: Review current architecture; identify areas for improvement to reduce the dependency on legacy architecture and systems, whilst ensuring the architecture is able to support the control framework that is in place. 
  • Client Outreach & Documentation: Review documentation units and provide specialist staff to improve efficiency of derivative documentation processes and manage large scale programmes to repaper contracts resulting from industry events, such as the (L)IBOR transition and Margin Requirements for Uncleared Derivatives phase-ins.
  • Programme & Project Management: New Link Consulting’s blend of practitioner expertise along with deliver and change management skills, enables us to tailor our deliveries to the explicit requirements of our client, enabling a collaborative approach to problem solving and the execution of complex change initiatives regarding the Middle Office. 
  • Operating Model Design: Design and implement strategic Target Operating Models (TOM) for business functions and organisations, aligning to industry best practice. Assisting with offshoring activities ensuring smooth transition and implementation. 

 

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Established in 2011, our practitioner-led service offering combines deep industry knowledge, gained through years of direct experience, with innovative change management skills.