Versana launches digital data platform to transform the $5t syndicated loan market

By Edlyn Cardoza

Versana announced the launch of its industry-backed syndicated loan platform, bringing to market a new centralised solution that digitally captures agent banks’ deal data on a real-time basis, providing the modern foundation for future market innovation and collaboration. Versana connects banks, institutional lenders, and their service providers to deliver transparency, efficiency, and velocity to this $5 trillion market.

“This is truly a monumental day for the entire loan market,” said Versana’s Founding CEO and Board Member, Cynthia Sachs. “Versana is the long-awaited digital data and technology solution that the syndicated loan market has so greatly needed. We are thrilled to launch this platform with the innovative and strategic support of our founding investors for a better – and ultimately bigger – corporate credit market.”

Versana’s syndicated loan platform is revolutionary for the private sector of the corporate credit market, providing unprecedented transparency that has never before been made available to market participants. Loan and position level details range from global borrower commitments and outstandings to historical transaction cash flows, positions on a fund-by-fund basis, base rate contract details, and digitised event notices.

“The launch of the Versana platform is a major milestone in our mission to transform the syndicated loan market by bringing innovation and technology to bear across the loan lifecycle. We’re excited to be playing a part in achieving this aspirational goal,” said Jeff Cohen, Global Head of Leveraged Finance at Credit Suisse.

Founding investors J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Citi, and Credit Suisse, working with their respective loan syndications and debt capital markets divisions, created Versana to address the operational inefficiencies and technological fragmentation in the U.S. leveraged loan market. The platform is now connected and live with real-time loan data. All four founding banks are now Versana subscribers and its first early-adopter clients.

Alex Naboicheck, Head of U.S. Leveraged Loan Trading at Bank of America, said, “We’re excited to join with other leading agent banks to mark the launch of the Versana platform. The fact that all four founding banks have invested capital as well as committed to contribute their administrative agent loan data to the system speaks volumes about our belief in this initiative. We’re proud to play such an integral role as the platform comes to market.”

Propelled forward by the banks’ asset class expertise and managed by Versana’s team of seasoned banking and technology professionals, the platform is the market’s first real-time, multi-tenant solution centralising corporate loan data flowing directly from leading administrative agent banks’ books and records. With its launch, Versana facilitates straight-through processing and long-term, scalable market growth, enabling participants to convert from legacy analog processes to a self-service data and technology platform that accommodates future innovation.

“This exciting effort will lead the digital transformation of the syndicated loan market. Moving to a digitized format will further enable market participants to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and lenders will have ease of receiving their loan holdings data to enable faster decision making to recycle and grow liquidity in the market,” said Joseph Ferraiolo, Head of Debt Capital Markets Operations & Merchant Bank Policy at J.P. Morgan.

The open, permissioned-based system is explicitly designed for the private nature of the asset class and is a key feature of the platform. The initial scope of the solution is focused on the U.S. institutional market, namely Term Loan As and Bs. As additional agent banks, lenders, and service providers join, Versana plans to further enhance its product offerings to meet the evolving needs of its clients throughout the loan ecosystem.

“The Versana platform has been built by a team of veteran banking and technology professionals with decades of experience working in the loan ecosystem,” said Versana’s CTO, David Kamp, who joined the firm in July. “Knowing firsthand the challenges faced by participants in this space, we have built a robust and secure foundation to modernize the market by leveraging smart contracts and distributed-compute and event-processing engines.”