CORE DUMP

Managing director Tony Herriott says that head-to-head evaluations of Reuters and Teknekron at Chemical Bank in New York proceed apace. The vendors have each installed on-site pilots of both PC- and UNIX-based trader workstations, and for the past two weeks senior trading staff have queued up for demonstrations. Herriott says that the firm will select its data distribution system and turret vendors after the turn of the year.

Globex opened a whopping seven hours late on Sunday, Nov. 22. According to a spokesperson, the delay was the result of a "technical difficulty" in the keystation software. Total activity on the truncated trading day was 647 contracts. Globex has been averaging about 2,700 per session. The spokesperson says that it took such a long time to get the system running again because engineers had trouble identifying the problem. Once they found the snag, he says, they were able to fix it quickly. It was the third major glitch Globex has suffered since its launch. Earlier miscues resulted in only about 90 minutes' down-time. The spokesperson says that Globex handled its 250,000th contract on Nov. 30.

Banque de France, the French central bank, has gone against its evaluation committee's recommendation opting instead to install a Reuters Triarch 2000 data distribution system, including Effix Systemes S.A.'s trader workstation software. The implementation will run on AIX-based IBM RS/6000s. The bank rebuffed its own committee's preference for a Teknekron/ACT Financial Systems solution.

As expected, National Westminster Bank has set plans to regroup its American companies under a new corporate entity, NatWest Markets USA. According to a senior NatWest official, the reorg is aimed at promoting interaction between the company's corporate lending and investment banking operations. The new unit is headed by senior managing director James Chester and will comprise the New York branch of National Westminster Bank PLC, County NatWest Securities, and two smaller brokerages. NatWest's various restructurings have already had an effect on two of these operations: Last summer, County NatWest and NatWest PLC's New York office joined trading-room technology forces (TST, July 27).

In their effort to develop an after-hours screen-based equity trading system, the AMEX, the CBOE and the CSE requested a bid from OM Group Ltd., a Swedish supplier of options trading systems. The move was something of a blow to Reuters, which was once the sole contender for the job. Exchange officials reportedly found Reuters' proposed transaction costs too high.

Huntington National Bank has set up The Huntington Technology Company (THTC) to expand its involvement in the business of marketing transaction-processing systems. THTC's systems are used in the back offices of corporate and banking clients that deal in treasury products and cash- management products, among other things.

Union Bank of Switzerland ran an ad in the New York Times seeking systems staff with experience with DEC VAX/VMS systems for its forex and precious metals trading areas and its back-office banking operations. Also advertising was Republic National Bank of New York, which sought a senior data security analyst with experience with PC/LAN-, IBM mainframe- and RS6000-based systems.

Goldman Sachs technology executive Peggy Truong has left the firm. The departing vice president declines to comment on her move.

No room at the switch: Sources say that Citicorp's Micrognosis video-switching system at 55 Water Street has reached its maximum capacity. Thus when the bank needs to add traders, these days it must order standalone terminals.

On Donner! On Blitzen! On Vacation! With this issue TST takes a holiday break. We'll be back Jan. 11.