Patent Publication Number: US-10776866-B2

Title: System and methods for monitoring credit of trading counterparties

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/617,275, filed Sep. 14, 2012, by Stewart Harris et al., and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING CREDIT OF TRADING COUNTERPARTIES” (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,732,069), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/072,899, filed Mar. 28, 2011, by Stewart Harris et al., and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING CREDIT OF TRADING COUNTERPARTIES” (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,271,376), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/755,591, filed Jan. 5, 2001, by Stewart Harris et al., and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MONITORING CREDIT OF TRADING COUNTERPARTIES” (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,917,423), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/174,896, filed Jan. 6, 2000, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to systems and methods for monitoring credit of trading counterparties. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for monitoring credit of trading counterparties that enable trading systems and credit managers to monitor credit of trading counterparties and thereby control the risk that the trading system and the trading counterparties are exposed to. 
     In recent years, electronic trading systems have gained wide spread acceptance for trading of a wide variety of items, such as goods, services, financial instruments, and commodities. For example, electronic trading systems have been created which facilitate the trading of financial instruments and commodities such as stocks, bonds, currency, futures, oil, gold, pork bellies, etc. As another example, online auctions on the Internet have become popular markets for the exchange of services and both new and used goods. 
     Trading systems are frequently operated by individual traders in order to effect trades for legal entities with which they are employed. For example, a bank may employ various traders who participate in trading in the bond market. In trading system, both the traders and the banks may each maintain a trading account, and thus each is a counterparty in the trading systems. Similarly, a holding company may own several banks, and each bank may employ several traders. As above, the holding company may also maintain a trading account, and thus the holding company is also a counterparty in the trading system. The accounts that are held may follow the same type of structural hierarchy. For example, the holding company may have a trading account, each bank may have a sub-account of the holding company&#39;s account, and each trader may have a sub-account of their bank&#39;s account. In the context of this invention, a customer of a trading system may be any person or entity holding one or more trading accounts and may be also referred to as a counterparty. For example, the holding company may hold its own account as well as the accounts of its banks, and each bank may hold its own account as well as the accounts of its traders. Also in the context of this invention, the holding company is the parent entity of the banks and the banks are the parent entities of their traders. 
     Many of these electronic trading systems use a bid/offer process in which bids and offers are submitted to the systems by a passive side and then those bids and offers are hit and lifted (or taken) by an aggressive side. For example, a passive trading counterparty may submit a “bid” to buy a particular number of 30 Year U.S. Treasury bonds at a given price. In response to such a bid, an aggressive side counterparty may submit a “hit” in order to indicate a willingness to sell bonds to the first counterparty at the given price. Alternatively, a passive side counterparty may submit an “offer” to sell the particular number of the bonds at the given price, and then an aggressive side counterparty may submit a “lift” (or “take”) in response to the offer to indicate a willingness to buy bonds from the passive side counterparty at the given price. 
     When trades are entered into by one counterparty submitting a bid or offer and another counterparty hitting or lifting the bid or offer, respectively, a binding contract between the counterparties is entered into. Part of that contract requires that the counterparties each deliver money, goods, and/or services. For example, if a first counterparty bids to buy $100 million in 30 year U.S. Treasury bonds, and a second counterparty hits the bid, the first counterparty has to deliver $100 million in cash and the second counterparty has to deliver the 30 year U.S. Treasury bonds within a predetermined clearing time. This process is referred to as a trade clearing. 
     Because counterparties have the potential to lose money when trades do not clear because of subsequent changes in market conditions, counterparties frequently desire to, and are frequently required by their parent entities to, limit their risk exposure. One way in which risk exposure can be limited is to place a monetary limit on the amount of trades that can be made in one day. This limit is referred to as a credit limit. The monetary total amount of trades that may be made is referred to as the credit available to the counterparty, and the monetary total amount of trades that have been entered into so far is referred to as the position of the counterparty. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide systems and methods for monitoring credit of trading counterparties. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with this and other objects of the invention, systems and methods for monitoring credit of trading counterparties are provided. More particularly, the present invention is systems and methods for monitoring credit of trading counterparties that enable trading systems and credit managers to monitor credit of trading counterparties and thereby control the risk that the trading system and the trading participant are exposed to. In one aspect of the present invention, the systems and methods monitor trades entered into and cleared by counterparties, track the net and gross positions of counterparties and the counterparties&#39; parent entities, trigger warnings when counterparties or their parent entities exceed a warning limit, and shut-off counterparties&#39; trading ability when counterparties exceed a credit limit. In another aspect of the present invention, an operator of a credit system is provided with a variety of interfaces through which the operator can set up new counterparties, search a list of counterparties, view and edit basic information for counterparties, view financial information for counterparties, view and edit notes regarding counterparties, view and edit limits of counterparties, view position versus limit information for counterparties, view the current day&#39;s position information for counterparties, and view cumulative position information for counterparties. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of hardware that may be used to implement various embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of a credit monitoring process in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an illustration of a main menu that may be presented in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; and 
         FIGS. 4-21  are illustrations of various credit processor operator interfaces that may be presented in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is now described in connection with  FIGS. 1-21 . Turning first to  FIG. 1 , an example of hardware  100  that may be used to implement one embodiment of the present invention is shown. As illustrated, hardware  100  may include one or more local workstations  102  and one or more remote workstations  104  that may be used by counterparties to view trading data and enter trading commands. Workstations  102  and  104  may be any suitable means for presenting data and, in preferred embodiments of this invention, accepting input. For example, workstations  102  and  104  may be personal computers, laptop computers, mainframe computers, dumb terminals, data displays, Internet browsers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), two-way pagers, wireless terminals, portable telephones, etc., or any combination of the same. 
     To orchestrate trading between counterparties using workstations  102  and  104 , the workstations preferably submit commands to, and receive data to be displayed from, a processor  106 . In alternative embodiments, however, workstations may communicate with additional processors, or include processors to orchestrate trading in a distributed fashion without requiring processor  106 . In yet other embodiments, processor  106  may be connected to an external trading system (not shown) that controls trading by the counterparties. Processor  106 , and any additional processors, may be any suitable circuitry or devices capable of processing data such as microprocessors, personal computers, network servers, mainframe computers, dedicated computer systems, etc. 
     As shown, processor  106  may be connected to workstations  102  and  104  by networks  108  and  110 , respectively. Each of networks  108  and  110  may be any suitable data network for communicating data between workstations  102  and  104  and processor  106 , such as a local area network, a wide area network, the Internet, an intranet, a wireless network, a hard wired connection, a dial-up network, etc., or any combination of the same. In an arrangement of hardware  100  without processor  106 , workstations  102  and  104  may be linked together by networks  108  and  110  directly. 
     Workstations  102  and  104 , processor  106 , and networks  108  and  110  may collectively form a trading system. 
     As also shown in  FIG. 1 , a telephone network  126  may be provided that comprises a local telephone  128  and a remote telephone  130  connected by a telephone line  132 . Telephone network  126  may be used to enable a counterparty at a remote location to communicate with a broker-counterparty at a workstation  102  or  104 . This may be useful when the counterparty does not have access to a workstation  102  or  104  or when the counterparty only has access to a display-only workstation  102  or  104 . Obviously, telephone network  126  may be implemented as a private telephone network, a public telephone network, a wireless telephone network, or any suitable combination of the same. 
     When used to implement a bid/offer, hit/take trading system as described above or connect to an external bid/offer, hit/take trading system, hardware  100  may enable a counterparty to submit a bid to buy, or an offer to sell, an item at one of workstations  102  and  104 . This bid or offer may then be communicated to processor  106 , where the bid or offer can be ranked and stored in a bid-offer queue. The ranking may be based upon time of submission, price, or any other suitable criterion. The bid or offer may then be presented to other counterparty via other workstations  102  and  104  dependent upon its ranking in the bid-offer queue. Once displayed, the bid or offer can then be hit or taken by one or more of the other counterparty so that a trade of the item can proceed to execution. 
     A back office clearing system  112  and a credit processor  114  may also be connected to processor  106  of the trading system via communication links  118  and  120 , respectively. Clearing system  112  may be any suitable equipment, such as a computer, or combination of the same, for causing trades to be cleared and/or verifying that trades are cleared. Credit processor  114  may be any suitable equipment, such as a computer, or combination of the same, for monitoring and controlling credit as described hereinbelow. Credit processor  116  may be controlled by one or more operator terminals  116  via communication link  124 , and/or by workstations  102  and  104  via networks  108  and  110  and processor  106 . Operator terminals  116  may be any suitable circuitry or devices capable of providing a control interface for credit processor  114  such as microprocessors, personal computers, network servers, mainframe computers, dedicated computer systems, dumb terminals, computer monitor and keyboard, etc. Clearing system  112  may communicate with credit processor  114  via communication link  122 , and communication links  118 ,  120 ,  122 , and  124  may be any suitable data network for communicating data, such as a local area network, a wide area network, the Internet, an intranet, a wireless network, a hard wired connection, a dial-up network, etc., or any combination of the same. 
     Turning to  FIG. 2 , an example of a process  200  that may be executed in credit processor  114  is illustrated. As shown, at steps  202  and  204 , trade information may be received from processor  106  of the trading system and back office clearing system  112 . The trade information from processor  106  may include the price, size, and item to be traded in connection with trades entered into by each counterparty. The trade information from clearing system  112  may include price, size, and item that was supposed to be traded in connection with trades that cleared or failed to clear for each counterparty. The trading information may be received at credit processor  114  as soon as the information is available or may be periodically received in batches. 
     After receiving trade information from processor  106  at step  202 , process  200  may calculate the long-bond-equivalent for each trade based upon the size (e.g., quantity) and type (e.g., security and maturity) of the item to be traded at step  206 . The long-bond-equivalent (LBE) is a metric that is used to convert that values of various types of trades to a uniform scale and is based on the value of a long bond (i.e., a 30 year U.S. Treasury Bond). Although long-bond-equivalents are used to illustrate the invention, any suitable metric may be used to implement the invention. Next, at step  208 , process  200  may accumulate the LBE short and long positions for each counterparty account corresponding to the received information. A long position is a position wherein a counterparty agrees to buy an item and a short position is a position wherein a counterparty agrees to sell an item. Next at step  210 , process  200  may accumulate the LBE short and long positions for all accounts of each parent entity having counterparties corresponding to the received information. 
     After receiving trade information from clearing system  112  at step  204 , process  200  may re-calculate the long-bond-equivalent for each trade based upon the size (e.g., quantity) and type (e.g., security and maturity) of the item traded at step  212 , if necessary. Next, at step  214 , process  200  may adjust the LBE short and long positions for each counterparty account corresponding to the received information, if necessary. Where a trade has cleared, for example, the counterparty account may be deducted by the amount of the trade to reflect that the trade is no longer “on credit.” Next at step  216 , process  200  may adjust the LBE short and long positions for all accounts of each parent entity having counterparties corresponding to the received information, if necessary. 
     Upon completing step  210  or step  216 , process  200  may next determine at step  218  whether the counterparty accounts corresponding to the information have credit limits. For each account having a credit limit, process  200  may next check the account position against its account limit at step  220 . The account&#39;s position is preferably the value accumulated at steps  208  and  214 . Next, at step  222 , process  200  determines if the account&#39;s position is within the warning level range for the account. The warning level range is a range in which a counterparty, credit manager, trading system administrator, or anyone or anything else may be warned that the account is approaching its limit. If the account&#39;s position is not within the warning level range, then process  200  determines if the account&#39;s position is over its credit limit at step  224 . If the account&#39;s position is not over its credit limit, then process  200  proceeds to step  226  to wait for more information from processor  106  or clearing system  112 . Otherwise, if the account position is over its credit limit, process  200  may shut off the account at step  228 . Finally, after shutting off the account at step  228 , or if the account is determined to be within the warning level range at step  222 , process  200  may send a message, at step  230 , to one or more pagers of designated persons with information relating to the account, such as account number, position, and limit, and then wait for more trade information at step  226 . 
     If process  200  determines at step  218  that the account does not have a credit limit, however, then process  200  proceeds to step  232  where it determines whether the parent entity having the counterparty corresponding to the account has a credit limit. This limit would encompass an account limit for the account if one existed. If process  200  determines at step  232  that the parent entity does not have a credit limit, then process  200  may shut off the parent entity and all of its counterparties by disabling their trading accounts at step  234 . After shutting off these accounts at step  234 , process  200  may send a message, at step  230 , to one or more pagers of designated persons with information relating to the accounts, such as account numbers, positions, and limits, and then wait for more trade information at step  226 . 
     If process  200  determines at step  232  that the parent entity does have a credit limit, however, process  200  may then check the parent entity&#39;s position against its credit limit at step  236 . The parent entity&#39;s position is preferably the value accumulated at steps  210  and  216 . Next, at step  238 , process  200  may determine whether the parent entity&#39;s position is within the warning level range for that entity. If the parent entity&#39;s position is within the warning level range, then process  200  may send a message, at step  240 , to one or more pagers of designated persons with information relating to the parent entity, such as counterparty number, position, and limit, and then wait for more trade information at step  226 . 
     If process  200  determines at step  238  that the parent entity&#39;s position is not within the warning level range, then process  200  may determine at step  242  whether the parent entity&#39;s position is over the parent entity&#39;s credit limit. If the parent entity&#39;s position is over its credit limit, then process  200  may shut off the parent entity and all of its counterparties by disabling their trading accounts at step  234  and send a message to one or more pagers of designated persons with information relating to the accounts, such as account numbers, positions, and limits, at step  230 . After sending a message at step  230 , of if process  200  determines at step  242  that the parent entity&#39;s position is not over its credit limit, process  200  may wait for more trade information at step  226 . 
     Turning to  FIGS. 3-21 , examples of user interfaces that may be presented to an operator of credit processor  114  via operator terminal  116  and/or workstations  102  and/or  104  are illustrated. As shown in  FIG. 3 , a main menu  300  is illustrated. Main menu  300  is illustrated with icons  301 - 311  which are supplemented by text, although main menu may be implemented in any suitable manner. Main menu  300  allows an operator to enter information for a new counterparty, search a list of counterparties, view and edit basic information for counterparties, view and edit financial information for counterparties, view and edit notes regarding to counterparties, view and edit a limits of counterparties, view position versus limit information for counterparties, view the current day&#39;s position information for counterparties, and view cumulative position information for counterparties by selecting icons  301 ,  302 ,  303 ,  304 ,  306 ,  307 ,  308 ,  309 , and  310 , respectively. Although the interfaces that are described below in connection with selecting these icons are explained as being presented to operators, certain of these interfaces may also be presented to counterparties under appropriate circumstances. 
     As mentioned above, by selecting icon  301  from menu  300 , an operator can enter information for a new counterparty. As used herein, the term counterparty may be used to define any holder of a trading account irrespective of whether that account has sub-accounts or is a sub-account of another account. Turning to  FIG. 4 , an interface  400  that may be used to edit basic information for a counterparty is illustrated. As shown, interface  400  includes information areas  402 ,  404 ,  406 ,  408 , and  410 , and buttons  412 ,  414 ,  416 ,  418 , and  420 . 
     Within basic information area  402 , an operator may view a counterparty identification number  422  (which is preferably selected by credit processor  112 ), view and select a credit status  424  (which may include frozen, active, closed, open and pending), view and enter a counter party name  426 , view and enter a short name  428 , view and enter a date that the counterparty was formed  430 , view and select a country code for the counterparty  432 , view and enter a tax identification number  434  for the counterparty, view and enter the number of branches  436  operated by the counterparty, view and select whether the counterparty is a parent entity or not  438 , view and edit whether the counterparty has a parent entity  440  and, if so, view and select the name of the parent entity  442 , and view the last date the information for the counterparty was modified  444  and the name of the operator that last modified the information  446 . 
     If a parent entity is selected in box  440  and identified in field  442 , information for that parent entity may appear in parent information area  406 . As shown, this information may include an identification number  448 , an entity classification  450 , a name  452 , a state  454 , a country  456 , and a geographical region  458 . 
     In order to enter contact information like that displayed in contact information area  404  of interface  400 , an operator may click on contact button  414 . Upon clicking on button  414 , an interface  500  as illustrated in  FIG. 5  may be presented. As shown, the operator may view and edit the contact&#39;s first name, middle initial, last name, gender, department, title, telephone number, and position in fields  502 ,  504 ,  506 ,  508 ,  510 ,  512 ,  514 , and  516 , respectively. The operator may also view the identification number  518  for the contact, which is preferably assigned by the credit processor, the name  520  of the operator that last modified the information for the contract, and the date and time  522  that the information for the contact was last modified. The operator may save the information for a contact by clicking save button  524 . The operator may also disassociate a contact with a counterparty and delete the contact by pressing delete button  526 . Finally, when an operator is done using interface  400 , the operator may close the interface by clicking on close button  528 . 
     Although not illustrated in a figure, an operator may use a similar interface to interface  500  to enter and edit the address information that is displayed in address information area  408  for a counterparty by initially clicking on address button  416  in interface  400 . 
     In order to enter and edit the description information that is displayed in description information area  410 , an operator may click on descriptor button  418 . Upon clicking on this button, the operator may be presented with an interface  600  as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . Within area  602  of interface  600 , the operator may then select a descriptor type  604  that the operator wants to identify by clicking on the descriptor type. As shown, descriptor types may include classification, trading philosophy, structure of firm, main product, and membership. Once the operator has selected the descriptor type  604 , a menu  606  of descriptors for that descriptor type may then be presented. For example, if the operator selects the membership descriptor type, menu  606  may include descriptors: NASD, MSRV, NYSE, ASE, CBOT, CME, AMEX, and LIFFE. If the operator selects the classification descriptor type, menu  606  may include descriptors: dealer, muni-dealer, broker-dealer, and customer. If the operator selects the trading philosophy descriptor type, menu  606  may include descriptors hedge fund and commercial bank. If the operator selects the structure-of-firm descriptor type, menu  606  may include descriptors: corporation, general partnership, chapter-S corporation, and limited liability partnership. If the operator selects the main product descriptor type, menu  606  may include descriptors: bonds, FX, IRO/IRS, and Repos. Obviously, certain descriptor types (which may be indicated by special coloring or in any other suitable manner), such as membership, may permit multiple descriptors to be selected, and others may only permit one descriptor to be selected. Multiple descriptor types may be defined for each counterparty. 
     When descriptor(s)  606  are selected for a descriptor type  604 , the selections may then be displayed in a list of current descriptors area  608 . In order to enable an operator to change the list of current descriptors, the operator may highlight a descriptor type and descriptor in list  608 , and click remove button  610  or clear button  612 . Remove button  610  preferably removes the descriptor type and descriptor from the list entirely, and clear button  612  preferably allows the operator to reenter the selections in area  602 . Once the operator is done with interface  600 , the operator may click on save button  614  to save the selections and/or close button  616  to close interface  600 . 
     After an operator has completed using interface  400 , the operator may click on save button  412  to save the selections and/or close button  420  to close interface  400 . 
     In order to search for and view counterparty information that has already been entered, an operator may click on search list icon  302  in main menu  300 . After clicking on icon  302 , select counterparty interfaces  700  and  800  may be presented as illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , select counterparty interface  700  is shown with a counterparty list view option  702  selected. When in this view, counterparty information is displayed in a region  704  of the interface. This information may include an identification number  726 , a name  728 , a classification  730 , a credit status  732 , a state  734 , a country  736 , a geographic region  738 , a type  740  (e.g., parent or legal entity), a country code  742 , and a parent name  744  for the counterparty. Parent counterparties may be displayed in one color while non-parent counterparties may be displayed in another color. 
     The operator may scroll the list of information using scroll bar  746 . The operator may also sort the information in the list by identification number  726 , name  728 , classification  730 , credit status  732 , state  734 , country  736 , geographic region  738 , type  740 , country code  742 , and parent name  744  by selecting headings  706 ,  708 ,  710 ,  712 ,  714 ,  716 ,  718 ,  720 ,  722 , and  724 , respectively. Repeatedly selecting the same heading may toggle the order of the sort from ascending to descending and vice versa. 
     The operator may also restrict the items included in the list in region  704  by entering characters in one of fields  748  corresponding to identification number  726 , name  728 , classification  730 , credit status  732 , state  734 , country  736 , geographic region  738 , type  740 , country code  742 , and parent name  744  and pressing retrieve button  750 . For example, the letters “RE” have been entered in the one of fields  748  corresponding to name  728 . Accordingly, only counterparties with names beginning with the letters “RE” are included in the list. The number of counterparties that are in the list may be indicated by row count field  752 . 
     The operator may double click on any row in the list in order to activate interface  400  with that counterparty&#39;s information presented. The operator may also select a counterparty by clicking on a row so that a highlight region  754  appears in the row, and then clear the counterparty&#39;s information from the list by clicking on clear button  756  or select to activate interface  400  with that counterparty&#39;s information presented by clicking on select button  758 . The operator may close interface  700  by clicking close button  760 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates select counterparty interface  800  with a parent tree view option  802  selected. Interface  800  may include three viewing windows  804 ,  806 , and  808 . In window  804 , a parent tree view list may be presented. The list may include a list of counterparties, sub-counterparties of those counterparties, sub-sub-counterparties of the sub-counterparties, and so on. As illustrated, a plus sign  810  may be used to indicate a counterparty that has a sub-counterparty. In the case of “Republic Holdings”, its sub-counterparty&#39;s identification number and name may be indicated by clicking on plus sign  810 . Once this has been done, the plus sign may change to a minus sign  812  and the sub-counterparty&#39;s information may be indicated. In the case of “Ready Enterprises”, its sub-counterparty is “Ready Trade”. In the instance of counterparties where no sub-counterparty exists, these counterparties may be indicated without either a plus sign  810  or a minus sign  812  to indicate this status. 
     Once an operator has clicked on a counterparty in window  804 , the sub-counterparties for that counterparty may also be listed in legal entity list window  806 . At the same time, additional information for the clicked-on counterparty may be displayed in window  808 . This additional information may include basic counterparty information  814 , financial statement information  816 , and parent information  818  (if applicable). 
     The operator may double click on any counterparty in the lists of windows  804  and  806  in order to activate interface  400  with that counterparty&#39;s information presented. The operator may also select a counterparty by clicking on that counterparty in the lists of windows  804  and  806  and click on select button  820  in order to activate interface  400  with that counterparty&#39;s information presented. The operator may close interface  800  by clicking close button  822 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 3 , selecting basic information icon  303  from main menu  300  may present interface  400  with the information for the counterparty that was last displayed in the interface. As explained above, the operator may then view and edit the information displayed. 
     From main menu  300 , an operator may also select to view, enter, and edit financial statements for the last selected counterparty by clicking on financial information icon button  304 . In response, financial statements interface  900  may be presented as illustrated in  FIG. 9 . As shown, interface  900  may contain a statement list  902  and a statement detail  904  for a selected statement in list  902 . By clicking on a statement  906  so that the statement becomes highlighted, a corresponding statement detail  904  may be presented. 
     In order to modify the contents of a financial statement  906 , the operator may click modify button  910 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , upon clicking button  910 , interface  1000  may be presented. Through interface  1000 , the operator may edit the values in fields  1002 , view the previous statement details in region  1004  if available (none shown), set the status  1006  for the financial statement (e.g., audited or unaudited), set the currency  1008  for the financial statement, and set the date  1010  for the financial statement (although, preferably the date cannot be altered once set). After the operator is satisfied with the settings in interface  1000 , the operator may save the settings by clicking on save button  1012  and then close interface  1000  by clicking on close button  1014 . 
     Similarly, from interface  900 , an operator can create a new financial statement by clicking new button  912  and enter the pertinent information in interface  1000  of  FIG. 10 . By clicking on print button  914 , an operator can print a financial statement. By clicking on save button  908 , an operator can save one or more new financial statements or modifications to one or more financial statements. Finally, by clicking on close button  916 , an operator can close interface  900 . 
     If the operator clicks on note icon  306  from main menu  300 , a note information interface  1100  may be presented as illustrated in  FIG. 11 . As shown, interface  1100  includes a note type list  1102  and a notes area  1104 . Note type list  1102  includes various types of notes that may be entered and displayed. Upon selecting a note type, such as note type  1110 , notes area  1104  may display the corresponding notes  1108  for the selected type. Notes area  1104  may also present author information  1106  for the note which may include a note identification number, an operator name, and a date and time the note was created or modified. In order to show notes for all note types in list  1102 , the operator may click on show all box  1112 . 
     To create a new note type for list  1102 , the operator may click on create new type box  1114 . Upon doing so, a dialog box may appear prompting the operator to enter a name for the new note type. Once entered, the note type will preferably appear in list  1102 . In order to delete a note type, the operator may select a note type in list  1102  and click on delete type button  1116 . Ail notes related to that type may then be deleted, the user may be prompted whether each note is to be deleted or converted to another note type, or all notes may be converted to another note type. 
     By clicking on new button  1122 , an operator may create a new note of the type selected. By clicking on delete button  1120 , an operator may delete a selected note. By clicking on refresh button  1124 , an operator can refresh the notes displayed in interface  1100 . This may be particularly useful where more than one operator is entering notes for a given counterparty. By clicking on save button  1118 , an operator can save newly created notes and modifications to notes. Finally, by clicking on close button  1126 , an operator can close interface  1100 . 
     An operator may view credit limits for one or more counterparty accounts by clicking on limit list icon  307  in main menu  300  of  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , an interface  1200  may then be displayed. Interface  1200  may include a subcategory list  1202  showing various trading markets in the trading system and a limit list  1204  showing credit limits for certain counterparty accounts. Subcategory list  1202  may be used to select trading markets in the trading system for which the operator would like to view trading limits in list  1204 . As shown, all subcategories may be selected in list  1202 . This may be accomplished by selecting radio button  1208 . To unselect all subcategories, the operator may select radio button  1210 . The operator may also restrict the counterparties listed in list  1204  by entering a name or a portion of a name in field  1212 . To update the counterparty accounts shown in list  1204 , retrieve button  1214  may be clicked. Row count  1218  may show the number of counterparty accounts listed in list  1204 . 
     As shown, limit list  1204  may indicate a counterparty number for each account, a counterparty name for each account, a limit subcategory for each account, a limit type for each account, whether each account has been shut off, whether each account has reached its limit, the LBE net limit, the LBE gross limit, the principal net limit, the principal gross limit, the VAR net limit, the VAR gross limit, the MTM net limit, the MTM gross limit, and any other suitable information. In order to update this information, an operator may click on update mode box  1220  and enter the desired changes in list  1204 . 
     To view the account limits for a particular counterparty, the operator may select the counterparty from list  1204  and then click on account limit button  1224 . In response, account limit list interface  1300  may be presented. Interface  1300  may list all account level limits for a counterparty in list  1302 , the counterparty level limits for the counterparty in region  1304 , and accounts which do not have their own limits and which are therefore subject to the counterparty level limits for the counterparty. An operator may update the limits indicated for accounts in list  1302  by clicking on update mode box  1308  and changing the values in the fields of list  1302 . 
     A new account limit may be added to list  1302  by clicking on new button  1312 , or an existing account limit may be modified by clicking on modify button  1311 . After an operator clicks on button  1312  or  1311 , a limit entry interface  1400  may be presented as illustrated in  FIG. 14 . By selecting and modifying the various fields  1402 , the operator may the set the account limits and other parameters to the desired settings. The operator may then save the new settings by clicking on save button  1404 . The operator may close interface  1400  by clicking on close button  1406 . 
     By clicking on button  1314 , the operator may refresh the information displayed in interface  1300 . By clicking on print button  1316 , the operator may print out the information displayed in interface  1300 . By clicking on export button,  1318 , the operator may export the information displayed in interface  1300  to a data file. By clicking on save button  1310 , the operator may save an changes or additions made to the limits or other parameters displayed in interface  1300 . Finally, by clicking on close button  1320 , the operator may close interface  1300 . 
     Turning back to interface  1200  of  FIG. 12 , as illustrated, interface  1200  may also include a counterparty-without-limit list  1206  showing counterparties for which no limits have been set for the selected trading markets. These counterparties may not be eligible to trade in those trading markets because no limits have been set. Counterparty-without-limit list  1206  may be displayed by clicking on counterparty-without-limit box  1216 . 
     By clicking on print button  1226 , the operator may print out the information in interface  1200 . By clicking on export button  1228 , the operator may export the information in interface  1200  to a data file. By clicking on save button  1222 , the operator may save any additions or modifications to the information displayed in interface  1200 . Finally, by clicking close button  1230 , the operator may close interface  1200 . 
     In order to view position versus limit information for one or more counterparties in one or more trading markets of the trading system, an operator may click on position versus limit icon  308  of main menu  300  of  FIG. 3 . Upon selecting icon  308 , position versus limit interface  1500  of  FIG. 15  may be displayed. Interface  1500  may include a list  1502  of trade information for each counterparty corresponding to a category and one or more subcategories selected in fields  1504  and  1506 , respectively. By clicking on radio buttons  1508  and  1510  and then clicking on retrieve button  1512 , the operator may respectively select and unselect all of the categories and subcategories in fields  1504  and  1506  and then view the results in list  1502 . The values in list  1502  may then be updated either manually or automatically by selecting one of the radio buttons in refresh settings  1514 . 
     As shown in interface  1500 , list  1502  may include for each counterparty a counterparty identification number, a counterparty name, a limit type, a new limit type, a limit subcategory, whether the counterparty has been shut off, the percentage of the limit for initial warning, the quantity of trades executed, the LBE net position, the LBE net limit, and the percentage of the LBE net limit reached so far. 
     As with all position related interfaces and limit related interfaces, the information presented may be presented in white when the counterparty&#39;s accounts are in good standing, in yellow when the accounts are over their warning limits, and in red when the accounts are over their credit limit? 
     To view position versus limit information for all of a particular counterparty&#39;s accounts in a particular subcategory, an operator may select a set of counterparty accounts in the selected subcategory in list  1502  and then click on account button  1516 . Upon clicking on account button  1516 , position versus account detail interface  1600  may be presented as shown in  FIG. 16 . As illustrated, this interface may include a list of accounts  1602  for the selected counterparty and subcategory  1601 . This list may indicate for each account the account number, the account name, the active status, the shut off status, the warning limit percentage, the quantity of trades so far, the LBE net position, the LBE net limit, the percentage of the LBE net limit, the LBE gross position, and the LBE gross limit. The operator may close interface  1600  by clicking on close button  1604 . 
     To view position versus limit information for all transactions in a particular subcategory for a particular counterparty, an operator may select a set of counterparty accounts in the selected subcategory in list  1502  and then click on transaction button  1518 . Upon clicking on transaction button  1518 , position versus limit interface  1700  may be presented as shown in  FIG. 17 . As illustrated, this interface may include a list of transactions in a selected subcategory  1704  for a selected counterparty. For each transaction, this list may indicate particulars of the transaction including the quantity, the LBE, the principal, the price, and whether the transaction was a buy or sell. By clicking on close button  1706 , the operator may close interface  1700 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 15 , once the operator is done using interface  1500 , the operator may close the interface by clicking on close button  1520 . 
     In order to view position information for the current trading day, an operator may click on today&#39;s position icon  309  from main menu  300  of  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 18 , an interface  1800  may then be presented. Upon selecting a category and one or more subcategories in fields  1804  and  1806 , the operator may view a list of position information for each counterparty participating in the trading markets corresponding to the selected category and subcategories. This information may include the counterparty identification number, the counterparty name, the subcategory, the quantity, LBE net position, the LBE gross position, the LBE long position, the LBE short position, etc. To view position information for each of a counterparty&#39;s accounts in a selected subcategory, an operator may select the desired counterparty and category in list  1802  and click on account button  1808 . Upon clicking on button  1808  a list  1902  showing the current trading day&#39;s position information for the corresponding accounts may be presented in an interface  1900 . Each of interfaces  1800  and  1900  may be closed by pressing close buttons  1810  and  1904 . 
     In order to view cumulative position information, an operator may click on cumulative position icon  310  from main menu  300  of  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 20 , an interface  2000  may then be presented. Upon selecting a category and one or more subcategories in fields  2004  and  2006 , the operator may view a list of cumulative position information for each counterparty participating in the trading markets corresponding to the selected category and subcategories. This information may include the counterparty identification number, the counterparty name, the subcategory, the quantity, LBE net position, the LBE gross position, the LBE long position, the LBE short position, etc. To view cumulative position information for each of a counterparty&#39;s accounts in a selected subcategory, an operator may select the desired counterparty and category in list  2002  and click on account button  2008 . Upon clicking on button  2008  a list  2102  showing the cumulative position information for the corresponding accounts may be presented in an interface  2100 . Each of interfaces  2000  and  2100  may be closed by pressing close buttons  2010  and  2104 . 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the present invention is limited only by the claims which follow.