Technology

Operations Technology enables the firm and our clients to transact in all major markets and securities types, efficiently and accurately, while complying with all internal and external control requirements.

Utilizing a variety of technology platforms, the teams work with technical challenges such as interfacing with external bodies across the globe, processing complex real-time messaging flows, working with large databases handling millions of updates per day and working in collaboration with technology teams in all areas of the firm.

The following is a description of the departments that make up Operations Technology:

Derivatives Operations Technology is divided into 3 areas: trades processing, settlements and confirmations. We build the systems that support the firm’s OTC derivatives flows. Primary business lines include Credit, Interest rates, Foreign Exchange, Commodities, Bank Loans, and Mortgages. This growing area is working on making their systems scalable enough to handle tripling of volumes. There is also increased pressure in the derivatives industry to standardize and create common platforms to confirm and settle trades. Our platforms are also investing in workflow and consolidated desktop functionality, bringing together the Operations business across many regions and products.

Middle Office Technology is responsible for transaction processing from when the order is complete to pre-settlement. This involves calculation of final monies and agreement with the counterparty
using industry matching utilities. This includes all trades done on exchanges and with brokers as well as trades with our clients. Ever increasing volumes drive the need to design systems that scale to handling millions of transactions a day and dealing with the complexity of different business practices in markets globally.

Securities Clearance Technology enables operations to monitor all aspects of the clearance and settlement process. The factory serves as a gateway between the middle office and back office by receiving real-time trades from various front-end systems and sending instructions to external clearing agents to ensure that securities wind up in the appropriate ownership at the right time. Once a trade is settled, the factory sends postings downstream to the firm’s books and records. The factories predominately clear both fixed income and equity securities, but in some markets, the factories will handle warrants, ETFs and options. Over time, our applications have to adapt to increasing trade volumes, market-specific behaviors, and industry changes. For instance, the US Shares factory alone has an average daily volume in excess of 1 million and globally the factories also service over 200 external clearing agents.

Custody and Control has the responsibility for the firm’s books and records. This includes keeping track of the firm’s positions, ensuring that the firm’s position and transaction records are accurate, making sure that both the firm and our clients are in compliance with all regulatory requirements, and maintaining both the firm’s and our clients’ positions in light of corporate actions or other market events. Additionally, they are responsible for generating clients’ monthly statements as well as their yearly tax forms.

Client Services Workstation is the firms Customer Sub ledger for Institutional and Prime Brokerage Clients, supporting all product lines within Equities and Fixed Income for both securities and derivatives products. The functions performed by CSW include customer cash balance and position keeping, statements, interest calculations, ledger reconciliation, exception and payment processing. Since CSW is the official 'books and records' for client accounts, it is the source of data for many other systems in the firm.

Treasury Operations Technology supports Goldman Sachs Treasury Operations Department whose primary functions include the following:

• Reconciliations - To reconcile all cash accounts in the quickest, most accurate and most automated manner possible
• Cash Management - Forecast the firm’s daily cash requirements; Maintain sufficient liquidity; Maximize the firm’s cash investment potential and Minimize risk
• Investigations - Investigate queries resulting from failed cash transactions, pursue compensation from counterparts for interest claims on late payments and act as contact point for claims against the firm; Amend and cancel payments;
• Process Control Group - To provide the final checkpoint for financial and regulatory control, providing audit controls in preventing payments to names appearing on OFAC lists or clients that are a Credit risk.

Compliance Operations Technology is responsible for the design, development and maintenance of systems that ensure that Goldman Sachs is in compliance with over 40 regulatory agencies around the world in terms of transaction reporting, beneficial ownership, fee remittance, confirm production, trade processing and exception management. Our systems allow the firm not only to adhere to current regulations, but to respond in a timely fashion to regulatory changes and new business opportunities. Quality is key, for at stake is the firm’s reputation and ability to continue to operate or expand in a region.

Reference Data is responsible for the development of technology to provide the Firm with the product, pricing, and client reference data required to support all businesses, across all functions. We support the sourcing and consolidation of information from many sources. Our current focus is the design and build out of the new Common Reference Data Architecture, which will provide a framework supporting real-time notification, instrumentation, workflow, and an optimized approach for processing, with tight integration within the Operations Desktop. In addition, this area is engaged in the development of technology to support the Client On boarding initiative, which will reengineer our approach to bringing new clients into GS, as well as expanding the scope of business they can engage in with GS. The technologies this area will be levering will include .NET, workflow / business process management, document bar-coding and scanning, the Institutional Portal, CRM, and digital rights management.