Calypso-An integrated tool for investment banking

Calypso is an investment banking tool used worldwide by many investment banks including, HSBC Bank, Calyon Bank ,investment banking arm of Credit Agricole Bank based out at Paris amongst others.

FX derivatives are changing constantly and becoming sophisticated. Tight integration with other desks is becoming necessary to handle large volumes of trade.

For Example booking a dual currency deposit needs a good integration between the FX derivatives and money market desks. Global books require an excellent regional and global trading operations. Calypso provides a trading system where a lot of products covering various asset classes can be traded actively and also it is open to new developments and enhancements involving sophisticated pricing measures.

Investment banking comprises of three major areas namely Front office, Middle Office and Back Office. Front office or Front desk in an investment bank can be defined as the desk responsible for booking of deals, closing of deals ,getting new clients for the bank. Examples of Front Office systems are Kondor + and Summit.

Middle Office is the desk responsible for calculating the risks involved in a particular deal. Looking at the present scenario after the last years Lehman Brother's bankrupt case, Risk Management is taking a vital role in functioning of an investment banks. Risk Managers who were not having a good portfolio earlier are now important functions in an investment bank.

Back Office is used for confirmations, message generations and reconciliations in an investment bank. Examples of Back Office systems are Calypso, Murex and Fidessa.