Market Volatility Drives Record Post-Trade Volumes: How Firms Can Strengthen Operational Resilience

In April 2025, amid a spike in market volatility, the DTCC recorded unprecedented transaction volumes across its platforms. On April 9, the NSCC processed $5.55 trillion in trades, a 6.4% increase over its prior record. Just two days earlier, it handled 545 million transactions in a single day, surpassing the volume seen during the “meme stock” frenzy of January 2021 by 33%. Similar volume spikes were also observed across DTCC’s FICC and ITP services.

These events serve as a clear signal: firms must be ready to scale post-trade operations at a moment’s notice while maintaining operational stability and accuracy under pressure.

How Firms Can Strengthen Their Post-Trade Resilience

Increased transaction volumes test every link in the operational chain. At STP, we’ve seen this firsthand—April brought an 18% increase in overall client transactions, with foreign activity surging 51%. Yet, despite the volume and volatility, STP has delivered meaningful performance improvements:

• Trade fails decreased 16% year over year
• Match rates improved 12% year over year

These results underscore the importance of building not just scale, but resilience into post-trade operations. Here’s how firms can do the same:

• Automate core workflows to handle high volumes with speed and accuracy, reducing manual intervention and exception risk.
• Adopt scalable infrastructure that adapts to shifting market demands, offering the flexibility and speed that legacy systems can’t match.
• Enhance exception and fail management with real-time visibility, smart workflows, and strong escalation protocols.
• Strengthen cross-party coordination with custodians, brokers, and vendors to prevent trade failures and improve settlement certainty.
• Stress-test operations regularly identify system or process weak points before the next market spike.
• Deliver high-touch client service with context—at STP, we pride ourselves on understanding each client’s unique operational environment to provide tailored, responsive support that goes beyond the ticket.

Built for Volatility, Optimized for Scale: Lessons from April’s Surge

The extreme transaction volumes seen in April serve as a reminder that resilience isn’t optional—it’s a prerequisite for any firm navigating today’s market environment. Surges like these expose cracks in infrastructure, workflows, and communication channels. But they also offer valuable insights into what works under pressure.

Operational teams that maintain control share a few common traits: scalable technology, a strong data foundation, disciplined oversight, and deep integration with counterparties. These capabilities didn’t appear overnight—they were the result of sustained investment, regular stress testing, and a mindset focused on continuous improvement.

At STP, our own experience managing a sharp uptick in activity while improving key performance metrics reinforces a broader point: true resilience isn’t about reacting faster; it’s about being ready before the storm hits. Firms that embed adaptability into their operations—not just efficiency—are best positioned to thrive in the face of volatility.

Market shocks will continue. The challenge—and opportunity—for operations leaders is to turn these stress events into catalysts for smarter, stronger post-trade ecosystems.