Preps for Registration as Swap Data Repository
Reval (www.reval.com), a global derivative risk management and hedge accounting solutions provider that has been managing post-trade over-the-counter (OTC) derivative contracts in its single-version Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform for over a decade, announced today that it has formed a Board-level Risk and Compliance Committee and has hired a Chief Compliance Officer in advance of its registration as a Swap Data Repository (SDR) with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Patrick Trozzo, who has 28 years of strategic planning, operations and compliance experience in derivatives market making, will serve as Reval’s Chief Compliance Officer and report to the new Board committee, comprising derivatives industry and technology experts Dr. Steven W. Kohlhagen, co-creator of the now standard Garman-Kohlhagen model; Fred L. Cohen, retired PricewaterhouseCoopers Partner and financial risk management specialist; Jiro Okochi, Reval CEO, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board; and data management solutions veteran Steve Rosenberg.
“These moves represent Reval’s first steps in complying with the rules governing SDR’s,” Okochi says. “Although complete rules governing SDR’s have yet to be written by the CFTC, section 728 of the recently passed Dodd-Frank bill requires that SDR’s register with the CFTC and designate a Chief Compliance Officer who will report directly to the Board or a senior officer of the repository.” Reval first announced its intention to become an official SDR for non-financial entities and their counterparties last July, after the company began working with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. on behalf of its corporate end-user clients. Okochi explained then that Reval already operates as an SDR in that it books, manages risk, values and accounts for derivatives that companies use to hedge commercial risk.
Trozzo’s deep experience in derivative markets includes consulting on interest rate products for an Asian futures exchange, on operations and compliance for a fixed income broker/dealer, and strategic business planning for an India-based investment bank. Previously he was a Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, Senior Advisor at of Cerberus Capital Management, and a portfolio manager in alternative investments in the fixed income and foreign exchange markets for Cape Capital Management, a firm he co-founded. He also served as head of trading and market risk management in the fixed income and foreign currency derivative markets for West LB, Deutsche Bank, DKB Financial Products, and Security Pacific Bank. He holds a BBA from Pace University and an MBA from New York University.
Dr. Steven W. Kohlhagen’s contributions to the world of finance have been widely published in a number of economics and business publications and journals. He is well known in the markets as the co-creator of the widely used Garman-Kohlhagen pricing model, the formula for estimating the value of a European call option on foreign exchange. Over the past 30 years, he has served academia as a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and has built sales teams and derivatives businesses at Lehman Brothers, Bankers Trust, and First Union/Wachovia, among other leading financial institutions. At Bankers Trust, he was founder of the Market Transaction Group (Derivatives Options Products) and Managing Director, Money Market Sales and Trading, Origination and Distribution. His career at First Union began as co-founder of all derivative products business and later Managing Director for the Fixed Income Division.
Fred L. Cohen is a hedging and hedge accounting specialist with a career spanning over 30 years as a Partner in two of the Big 4 firms and as a Vice President for major financial institutions. In his capacity as PricewaterhouseCoopers Global and US Advisory Leader for the Energy, Utility and Mining industry sectors, he advised US utilities on business strategy, financial and enterprise risk management and financial and management reporting. Prior to PwC, he built KPMG’s treasury consulting practice, integrating advisory, assurance and tax practices. He is currently Managing Director at Perception Advisors.
Steve Rosenberg has over 30 years experience in the software industry and is currently Senior Vice President of Phase Forward, one of the leading providers of data management solutions for clinical trials and drug safety. There he oversees product development, product management, the World Wide services and support organizations and the company’s worldwide production hosting operation. Previously he served as the Senior Vice President of Development and Client Services at W3 Health, where he led the development and implementation of the company’s flagship healthcare analytics ASP environment.
Jiro Okochi is dedicated to helping companies better manage their use of derivatives. He started Reval in 1999 after holding senior positions in derivative sales at major global banks, including WestLB, Deutsche Bank, DKB Financial Products (now part of Mizuho), and Security Pacific Bank (now part of Bank of America). His vision was to provide corporate end-users with a technology solution to effectively assess, measure, document and account for derivatives. Under his leadership, Reval delivered the first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for derivative risk management and hedge accounting. With 23 years experience in finance and technology, Mr. Okochi continues to serve the industry as a thought leader.
