IHS Markit has hired Stewart Cowan to lead its securities finance product in the Asia-Pacific region.
Based in Sydney, he will oversee all regional activities with a focus on business development and strategy, identifying growth markets, and introducing new services and solutions for beneficial owners.
“Stewart has a wealth of knowledge across all our client segments, including borrowers, banks, agents, asset managers, hedge funds and beneficial owners. Most importantly, his leading-edge insight on the region’s securities finance sector will help us capitalise on significant opportunities to expand our presence there,” said Paul Wilson, global head of securities finance, IHS Markit.
Cowan joins from blockchain technology-specialist Digital Asset Holdings, where he served as a senior product manager for distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contract solutions.
He also led JP Morgan’s Asia-Pacific trading services, where he was responsible for regional business growth and client management in the agent lending segment.
IHS Markit provides global securities financing data to help customers optimise securities lending programmes, manage collateral, measure trading performance and enhance investment decision making.
Earlier this year, the data vendor went live with additional functionalities to its securities finance platform, including a new tool for securities lenders to compare their performance with rivals.
The enhancements also include wider coverage for the Japanese market, with daily reporting on publicly disclosed short interest for 2000 Japanese securities, a global corporate bond data feed, and an updated US forecasting model.