Operational risk: Hell is other people
As the focus on operational risk increases, Nicholas Pratt discovers that the greatest threats to a bank’s security lie outside of its four walls
Risk Management
Singapore Exchange partners with Clearstream for Asian collateral service
The Singapore Exchange and Luxembourg-based Clearstream are planning to launch a collateral management service that should help customers use assets as collateral at SGX’s securities depository CDP.
Big brother is watching: Russia’s BCS installs surveillance tools
Russia’s BCS Financial Group has chosen to install market abuse surveillance, insider dealing and compliance tools from specialist firm b-next, as the firm prepares to enter the UK market.
Welcome back: five emails you need to send this quarter
Here’s what you don’t know about how the European Parliament is going to stretch your time and budget in 2014 …
BCS upgrades pre-trade risk checks to meet new algo trading regs
Russian broker BCS Prime Brokerage plans to install a new pre-trade risk system called TripleCheck, which it says will help it to meet tough new regulations on algorithmic and proprietary trading.
Warsaw installs co-lo as Italy imposes HFT tax
Poland’s Warsaw Stock Exchange has introduced co-location systems designed to appeal to high-frequency traders, as Italy clamps down on HFT with Europe’s first HFT-specific tax. The moves highlight ongoing national and international divisions over the role of HFT in capital markets.
Nasdaq OMX connectivity disaster highlights stumbling markets
A three-hour trading crash at Nasdaq OMX caused by a connectivity issue has once again put the spotlight on trading technology and the resilience of financial markets, which have been sorely tested in recent months and years.
From collateral to liquidity management: the importance of a Golden Repository
A fragmented data architecture can threaten a financial institution’s ability to keep track of its assets. All too often, front office systems are separated into individual asset classes and lines of business, making the integration of the transaction flows from these systems very difficult.
UK Payments Council sets September date for account switching
The UK Payments Council has set a date for the introduction of the seven-day account switching service, which will make it easier for UK customers to switch their bank.
Investment banks must provide “immediate” service improvement says TABB
As the world’s banks continue to struggle with severe regulatory change, economic turbulence and technological evolution, a new report by analyst firm Tabb Group says that financial institutions will have to provide immediate, friction-free access to content, community and execution, or face extinction.
Japan gears up for OTC derivatives clearing in 2014
Financial services firms in Japan are taking early steps to prepare for new rules on OTC derivatives, according to a new survey carried out by fintech company Calypso in Tokyo.
New rules for dark trading and HFT in Australia
Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission has set out a series of final rules on dark liquidity and high-frequency trading, which it says will promise a more stable market.
Bloomberg rolls out US swap execution facility
Bloomberg has received approval to launch a Swap Execution Facility, ahead of the compliance deadline for new US Dodd-Frank rules for clearing of OTC derivatives.
The new FCA – don’t have nightmares
Is there anything to fear about the new FCA? Well, possibly quite a lot, it would seem. A hundred or so days into the new era of the FCA and it would be hard for anyone in the wealth management or private banking sector to have missed the message that the regulation of the sector is going to be different from now on.
Market surveillance: a watching brief
The US Securities & Exchange Commission is often accused of using skateboards to chase Ferraris in its attempts to keep up with trading houses, but less than a year after announcing that it intended to create a new market surveillance system – and six months after going live with it – its cloud-based approach is […]
Data protection compliance: the biggest hurdle facing the back office?
In an effort to improve the protection offered to consumers, and to harmonise data practices, the EU is currently in the process of passing two pieces of legislation: the Cybercrime Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Few people have given much thought to how these will align with international financial regulation.
RBS prepares for SEPA with Canada’s CGI Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland has chosen Canadian IT firm CGI Group to help its corporate clients manage the transition to SEPA, the European Union project to simplify bank transfers denominated in euros.
Here algo again: MiFID II will require your attention in 2014
For firms who remember MiFID I, and those that don’t, round two is almost upon us. This month, the Council of the EU agreed their general approach, meaning that the draft of MiFID II/MiFIR is free to advance to the European Parliament. If all goes according to the current plan, the new combined legislation will be with us in time for 2015 implementation.
Pressing the reset button
Whether or not the coalition government succeeds in implementing all of its proposals remain to be seen but undoubtedly the transformation of the banking sector – across all levels – is most certainly underway …
House of Commons HFT tax proposal “not good for market”
Market participants have condemned a proposal in the UK House of Commons that calls for the UK government to consider implementing a tax on high-frequency trading activity in the country.
Euroclear moves France, Netherlands and Belgium to T+2 settlement
Securities trading in France, the Netherlands and Belgium is to move to T+2 settlement in October 2014, following a decision by Euroclear to pre-empt Europe-wide settlement reforms.
FATCA-style agreements present taxing times for GRC teams
If your role has anything to do with governance, risk and compliance or with international tax agreements, then you’ll be familiar with the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the potential impact on many of the world’s financial institutions …
Chilean banks build CCP based on Calypso tech
A group of Chilean banks working on a new CCP for OTC derivatives have chosen Calypso technology to help build its core clearing platform, in an initiative that highlights Latin America’s efforts to match G20 financial sector reforms.
Risk data: can it be both efficient and compliant?
With six months before the 4th Capital Requirements Directive comes into force, many will be asking what technological improvements will be necessary to efficiently manage risk going forward. Before they embark on a costly overhaul of their data systems, firms should look at what regulatory trends are likely to require similar changes in the future and adjust their specification accordingly.
Barclays under fire for “outrageous” remittance closures
At a passionate debate in Westminster this week MPs, led by Rushanara Ali, member for Bethnal Green & Bow, called for government action in the wake of Barclay’s recent decision to close accounts for a large number of small payments businesses in the remittances sector.
The battle for benchmarks: divisions in the ranks?
With lots of different regulatory benchmark efforts now underway, the industry could be forgiven for not taking a common stance. With IOSCO issuing final principles, ESMA and the EBA are simultaneously consulting on a European set of principles. Meanwhile the UK is moving ahead with its own reforms.
Banks granted respite as US FATCA rule is delayed again
Delays to the controversial US FATCA rule have provided a valuable window of opportunity for financial institutions to prepare.
ESMA kicks off latest OTC derivatives clearing consultation with discussion paper
European securities regulator ESMA has started the latest round of consultation on OTC derivatives clearing with the release of a discussion paper on regulatory technical standards for the European Market Infrastructure regulation, the new pan-European rulebook.
Libor is dead … long live NYbor?
Uncertainty over the mechanism for calculating the Libor benchmark in future remains in the wake of the generally applauded appointment of NYSE Euronext as its new administrator.
HDFC Bank India takes up Numerix risk tools
India’s HDFC Bank has chosen to install risk management tools provided by Numerix, in a move the bank says will help consolidate its risk management and reporting capabilities.
FATCA, IGAs and AML Technology
After a long wait, the first real FATCA implementation deadlines are just around the corner. To meet the new account identification requirements, by 1 January 2014, institutions should be in the process of implementing the necessary upgrades in their onboarding and overall compliance systems and processes.
Changing banking for good: aspiration or opportunity?
The possibility of jail for miscreant top bankers has hit the headlines following publication of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards final report, a compendium of all that is considered wrong with both banks and the regulator …
Data structures hampering banks’ ability to monitor risk
According to a new white paper from Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, one of the key issues faced by data architects tasked with creating a unified data management infrastructure is the fact that operations in different countries often have different internal systems.
Embrace the internet to determine the future of banking
The impact of the internet on the banking industry may yet turn out to be far more important than the financial crisis and the subsequent regulatory overhaul. Viewing statements on-line and making payments electronically is just the very beginning of the revolution.
Six to supply data for GBST financial transaction tax system
GBST‘s Capital Markets and Six Financial Information have teamed up to enhance GBST´s solution for the Financial Transaction Tax that some European countries are introducing.
A pro-fund change? Good news for AIFs
The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive threatens to have a significant operational impact on the industry. Fund managers will soon be subject to a host of new requirements including increased KYC and due diligence, better risk and liquidity monitoring, and new reporting and disclosure requirements. However, in the UK the transition looks to be particularly […]
Government should push banking platform upgrades in wake of Treasury report say IT firms
Reaction to the publication of the Report of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards earlier this week focussed largely on the restrictions that senior management in banks, but it also made recommendations about the systems banks use, and the need to upgrade them.
SEC hopes for Midas touch from HFT surveillance system
the US Securities and Exchange Commission says that its cloud-based approach is paying dividends and allowing it to examine the structures of the markets it supervises at a greater level of granularity than ever before.
Shared UK payments infrastructure faces uphill struggle
Financial services observers have expressed support for the UK Payments Council’s new roadmap – but serious concerns remain about the viability of the proposals, which are backed by the UK government as part of a drive to improve services for consumers.
Brokers need to focus on risk management says Tabb Group
Brokers will need to spend more on risk management over the remainder of 2013 if they are to survive incoming financial regulation and new technologies will be required to make that possible, according to new research by Tabb Group.
