6: Redefining Collateral Mobility

In this episode, Tonic CEO Chris Watts is joined by Head of Collateral Philip Forkan and guests from HQLAx - Erica De Rosa and Martin O’Connell, to explore how distributed ledger technology (DLT) is reshaping the collateral landscape in global capital markets.

Together they take a practical look at the inefficiencies facing today’s collateral ecosystem and how digital innovation is driving real improvements in mobility, liquidity, and operational resilience.

Key Highlights:

• The global collateral market is worth in the realm of over €24 trillion, but fragmentation and inefficiencies create significant cost and risk. 
• Europe’s complex web of custodians and agents presents major challenges for interoperability and real-time settlement. 
• With the move toward T+1 and T+0 settlement cycles, the need for faster, more flexible collateral mobility has become urgent. 
• Use cases discussed include intraday liquidity, cross-custodian optimization, and digital margin transfers to CCPs. 
• Advice for firms looking to begin their digital transformation: start with a focused business case, identify the right internal stakeholders, and build momentum from there. 

Also featuring a light-hearted round of “Two Truths and a Lie” - this time with unexpected celebrity encounters.

If you're exploring how digital solutions can streamline your collateral operations, this episode offers both insight and inspiration.

00:00 Episode Intro
02:55 Two Truths, One Lie Challenge
05:19 Why is Collateral Playing Such a Significant Role?
10:50 What Does HQLAx Do?
16:22 Buy-Side and HQLAx
19:20 Maximum Optimisation
20:52 What Should Firms Be Thinking About Doing?
23:08 Episode Conclusion and Outro