After ECC, EEX Clearing Rollout, KB Tech Eyes Data Deals

The vendor offers a range of data, trading and clearing-related services built around its TDI ticker plant software. This includes its Clearing Gateway module, a manged gateway to multiple clearing venues.

This month, KB Tech launched KB Portal to allow the entry and submission of brokered trades for trade registration on Deutsche Börse-owned European Energy Exchange (EEX), which clears trades via ECC. The portal also provides functions including historic trade search, general trade analysis and the inputting of spread trades.

The portal is aimed at brokers who operate in markets where trades still brokered by phone. After agreeing a trade, a broker can enter the details of the trade into the portal—including the clients involved, and the type of trade—which automatically sends these to ECC for straight-through processing and clearing.

“The idea is to deliver them something which is very lightweight in terms of no infrastructure overhead. The feedback from brokers was that they wanted an easy-to-use and easy-to-deploy system for straight-through processing into ECC. Our portal will operate on any standard browser… all you need is a normal internet connection,” says Bob Antell, executive chairman at KB Tech.

The vendor was introduced to EEX after the exchange acquired commodities and freight derivatives market ClearTrade Exchange in 2016, for which KB Tech “supplied a lot of technology,” Antell says. “They invited us to present the services that we have, and as a result of those meetings they asked to get involved in this project.”

Antell says KB Tech hopes to find opportunities to supply other services to the group. “TDI is the backbone of the products we have. We have different modules depending on the services which are required. If you want a clearing gateway, or a price distribution system, we have the modules. We’re pleased EEX bought ClearTrade—as a technical supplier of services and products, we’re hoping to continue getting more services into them.”

First Sales Partner

Separately, KB Tech has also signed a sales partnership with FT Support—a Milan based financial data and software vendor that specializes in the distribution of metals pricing and analytics—which will act as KB Tech’s sales agent in Italy.

The partnership will allow the two vendors to present new and complimentary services to existing and new clients in Italy.

“They’re a company like us that has a number of clients, but also… has their own software expertise, and was able to relate very quickly to the benefits that we provide in terms of our services. With the Italian market, it’s very important to have a local representative there. FT Support has several hundred clients already, and therefore has contacts to go in and present our services,” Antell says, adding that the partnership is first of several that the vendor has in its pipeline.