Case Study: Markaz achieves fast, accurate, scalable options pricing with FINCAD Analytics

Pioneering Derivatives in the Middle East-Gulf Region with FINCAD Analytics

Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz”, a leading asset manager and pioneer of derivatives trading in the Middle East, needed a fast, accurate and scalable options valuation engine to support its Forsa market‑making fund and a new exchange‑traded options platform. Rather than build proprietary models, Markaz selected FINCAD and its FINCAD Analytics library to provide industry‑standard pricing and risk models that integrate with Microsoft Excel and Markaz’s IT environment while meeting regulatory and operational timelines.

FINCAD delivered the FINCAD Analytics library and the FINCAD Analytics Suite for Developers (embedded in C++ with a web interface) while FINCAD Analytics for Excel is used for structured and OTC trades. The solution gave Markaz comprehensive, documented models and responsive client support, enabling pricing and risk assessment of hundreds of options across strikes and maturities and integration into trading, risk and back‑office systems. Measured gains included function calls to compute Greek sensitivities via binomial models running eight times faster than in Excel, plus much faster high‑volume quoting, proven scalability and broad model coverage.

Markaz

Hussein Zineddine

AVP for Equity Derivatives and Structured Products