Airstar Bank Adopts Bloomberg MARS to Manage Banking Book Requirements

Hong Kong – Bloomberg announced today that Airstar Bank, a digital bank in Hong Kong, has adopted MARS Front Office, part of Bloomberg’s Multi-Asset Risk System (MARS) solution, to support their Interest Rate Risk in Banking Book (IRRBB) stress test scenario analysis.

To better align with Basel Committee requirements, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has provided guidance for local banks managing interest rate and liquidity risk to adopt interest rate shock scenarios, in addition to the standard supervisory scenarios they may already have in place.

In order to address this evolving regulatory requirement, Airstar Bank has utilized Bloomberg’s MARS Front Office to enhance its stress testing and reporting. The scalable MARS solutions can also support the bank’s daily market risk management and improve its operational efficiencies across the business.

Airstar Bank commented: “Bloomberg MARS offers transparent modeling methodologies and automated data aggregation, which has improved our bank treasury and ALM workflows, reduced the risk of manual errors, and enhanced our regulatory reporting process. It has not only improved our compliance posture, but also freed up our risk team to focus on more strategic initiatives that support our long-term growth.”

“Amidst recent market volatility, regulators across jurisdictions have increased scrutiny around IRRBB, which requires banks to implement robust risk management and balance sheet management frameworks,” said Chintan Shah, Global Head of Front Office & Treasury Risk at Bloomberg. “MARS helps clients by providing sophisticated modeling, high-quality data and streamlined workflows. We look forward to supporting many more banks across the region with their regulatory reporting needs and help them to manage risks and volatility in these challenging times.”

Bloomberg’s suite of Multi-Asset Risk Solutions (MARS), which are delivered on the Bloomberg Terminal and via APIs, provide risk analytics for cash and derivatives securities. Bloomberg MARS is used by more than 1,100 professionals, including traders, portfolio and risk managers at over 900 client firms to access real-time analytics, cutting edge derivatives pricing libraries and comprehensive market data coverage. The suite offers front office risk, market risk, counterparty risk, credit risk, hedge accounting, collateral management, regulatory capital and other metrics so firms have a unified and consistent front-to-back view of their businesses.

For more information on Bloomberg’s Risk solutions, click here.

Bloomberg MARS has been recognized across a range of risk management and risk transfer solutions at the WatersTechnology Sell-Side Technology Awards 2024 with an award for Best Sell-Side Front-Office Platform and additional wins at the 2023 Risk Market Technology Awards, including Pricing and Analytics: Structured Products/Cross-Asset and Best Support for Risk Free Rates.

About Airstar Bank

Airstar Bank is a digital bank in Hong Kong with Xiaomi Corporation and Futu Group as its key shareholders. The Bank upholds the virtue of financial inclusion by making cutting edge digital banking services accessible at our customers’ fingertips. Airstar Bank has become a licensed bank under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority since May 9, 2019.

About Bloomberg

Bloomberg is a global leader in business and financial information, delivering trusted data, news, and insights that bring transparency, efficiency, and fairness to markets. The company helps connect influential communities across the global financial ecosystem via reliable technology solutions that enable our customers to make more informed decisions and foster better collaboration.

For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/company or request a demo.

Media Contact

Irene Gu, igu3@bloomberg.net, +852-29772111

Burson Group, airstarbank@hkstrategies.com