EU Commission mandates OTC derivatives clearing
The European Commission has adopted new rules that make it mandatory for certain OTC interest rate derivative contracts to be cleared through central counterparties.
Trading Technology
GMEX signs Bank of America, prepares for launch
International derivatives market GMEX is due to go live on Friday after more than two years of development. Created by co-founders Hirander Misra and Vj Angelo, the new exchange has just signed Bank of America Merrill Lynch and will start by offering futures contracts backed by German derivatives giant Eurex.
Casablanca joins London Stock Exchange ELITE program
The London Stock Exchange Group has signed an agreement with Casablanca Stock Exchange to support the launch of LSEG’s business development programme, ELITE, in Morocco.
London Stock Exchange signs first Hong Kong member
The London Stock Exchange has welcomed BOCI Securities as its first member from Hong Kong. BOCI Securities, a wholly owned subsidiary of BOC International Holdings, joins London Stock Exchange less than two months after regulatory approval was received from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission allowing Hong Kong firms to become members.
The new face of risk management
Regulations aimed at transparency across financial markets may be making things simpler for the regulators, but they are making life more complex for banks, according to Sven Ludwig, senior vice president, risk management and analytics EMEA, at SunGard.
JSE overhauls derivatives and fixed income systems
South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange is moving its derivatives and fixed income markets onto Millennium Exchange, the trading platform it bought from the London Stock Exchange when it moved its equities market earlier this year.
Blockchain-based SETL plans to revolutionise payment and settlement
A new venture plans to create a multi-asset, multi-currency institutional payment and settlements infrastructure based on blockchain technology. Called SETL, the venture is backed by Peter Randall, former chief executive at Chi-X, the multilateral trading facility that is now part of BATS, and Anthony Culligan, founder of peer-to-peer bitcoin trading site Roolo.
Plato Partnership enters “exclusive” deal with Turquoise
The Plato Partnership, a consortium of asset managers and broker-dealers working to build a non-profit equities trading utility in Europe, has chosen the London Stock Exchange’s Turquoise subsidiary as its preferred partner, and the two companies announced they are exploring a “commercial collaboration”.
ISDA proposes changes to Dodd-Frank derivatives reforms
Five years on from the Dodd-Frank Act being signed into law in the US, a number of outstanding issues for derivatives reform need to be resolved, according to a new paper by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.
Tech-powered non-banks taking over US Treasury trading
Technology is equipping non-bank market-makers to move into the US Treasury Market, giving them analytics and speed to manage and hedge risk, while enhancing market liquidity. “Market makers have been deploying electronic tools at varying degrees over the past decade,” says Anthony Perrotta, a principal and head of fixed income research at Tabb Group, author […]
Boat adds Russian instruments to trade reporting service
Boat Services now supports the post trade publication of Russian OTC trading, by including stocks listed on the Moscow Exchange. The addition covers more than 300 Russian security instruments, including common and preferred stocks.
DTCC Data Products to centralise data provisioning and access
Post-trade market infrastructure the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation has launched a new centralised data provisioning service, DTCC Data Products and expanded its exchange traded funds and ISO 20022 corporate actions data offerings.
BBVA picks Broadridge for outsourced fixed income processing in US
BBVA Group has entered a multi-year agreement with Broadridge Financial Solutions) for a post-trade managed service to support its institutional fixed income business in the US. Under the agreement, Broadridge will provide an integrated managed service to support fixed income and repurchase agreement processing, international clearance and settlement and investor communications services
T2S goes live after nine years – without Italy
Target2-Securities, the European Central Bank project to harmonise Europe’s post trade infrastructure, has finally gone live after nine years of preparation. Italy’s Monte Titoli was not part of the first wave.
LSE opens direct membership to Hong Kong
The London Stock Exchange has obtained approval for Hong Kong companies to become members. Previously, only companies from the European Economic Area and Israel could join.
Derivatives exchanges slam regulators over open clearing
Regulators should not define how markets are structured when it comes to innovation and open access to clearing. Instead, it should be left up to the market to define how services are provided, according to speakers at the IDX FIA Europe conference in Europe this week.
Nasdaq claims clearing costs ‘half of CME’
Clearing costs at Nasdaq’s new NFX futures venue will be half those on rival CME, the exchange claims. NFX is due to launch later this summer.
MiFID II open access to CCPs called into question
As the European Commission’s MiFID II legislation moved towards implementation of technical standards, some of Europe’s national regulators are seriously worried that mandatory open access to CCPs may not be such a good idea. Concerns about the ability to manage risk and the ability to effectively handle data were highlighted by speakers at the IDX FIA conference in London yesterday.
Swift adds business intelligence for securities market
Swift has formally launched a new business intelligence solution for securities market participants following the completion of an early adopter programme. Watch for Securities is “ready for full scale use” by local and global custodians, investment banks, asset managers and broker/dealers, allowing them to monitor and gain business insights from their network traffic.
Reforms needed to build on Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect success
The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect link has made significant in-roads in the opening of China’s capital markets to international trading but barriers to participation, including restricted trading strategies, introduce risk and create operational complexity. The long-term success of the venture hinges on removing these barriers, according to a study carried out for the DTCC.
McKenna to head standards at Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation
Karla McKenna has been named head of standards at the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation on a year’s secondment from Citi, where she is director of market practice and standards.
CLTX Singapore rolls out commodity futures platform
Singapore futures market Cleartrade Exchange has launched a new matching and trading platform, CLTX Trader, which will go live on Deutsche Börse’s global trading architecture. The exchange says the new technology will help support more advanced trading strategies for commodity derivatives.
London Stock Exchange acquires Exactpro Systems
The London Stock Exchange has acquired quality assurance specialist Exactpro Systems, taking 100% ownership of the company.
EBRD to support Turkish capital market reform with 10% stake in Borsa Istanbul
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is in talks to acquire a 10% stake in Borsa Istanbul to support Turkey’s efforts to reshape its capital markets.
Swift extends KYC compliance services to securities users
Swift is extending its Know Your Customer compliance service into the securities area, making it available to fund distributors and custodians.
Deutsche Börse announces partnership with Chinese exchanges
Deutsche Börse plans a joint venture with the Shanghai Stock Exchange and China Financial Futures Exchange to develop and market Chinese-based financial instruments to investors outside mainland China.
Nasdaq unit says risk and data capabilities give FS firms a way to rebuild client trust
Financial services firms should get a grip on their risk management and make more use of the data available to them as part of a two-way process in gaining user trust and building new revenue streams.
Daiwa Securities switches post-trade platforms as Hong Kong gears up for growth
Japanese investment bank Daiwa Securities has transferred its Hong Kong business onto a new post-trade processing platform built by specialist vendor Torstone. The bank says the move is part of a long-term plan to revamp its back-office technology in the city, as Hong Kong steps up its role in the integration of China’s capital markets into the global mainstream.
FIX protocol dominates in post-trade workflow
Three-quarters of market participants use the FIX protocol for confirmation and affirmation of their transactions, according to a new survey released by financial industry standards body the FIX Trading Community.
Nasdaq to introduce blockchain for private equities
Nasdaq is to use the blockchain technology behind controversial alternative currency Bitcoin, as part of a push to improve the exchange’s equity management abilities. The move is the first time a major global exchange has put the blockchain concept to use.
Lima Exchange sets sights on LatAm expansion with LSE platform
As Peru rapidly grows its economy, the country’s Bolsa de Valores Lima exchange hopes to turn itself into a regional hub for international investors. To that end, the exchange has gone live with a new trading platform, built by the London Stock Exchange’s MillenniumIT subsidiary.
Cerutti out as Euronext appoints interim chief executive
Euronext has appointed Jos Dijsselhof as interim chief executive, accelerating its transition plan following the resignation of Dominique Cerutti at the end of last month. Cerutti will now leave immediately.
‘Hound of Hounslow’ highlights need for surveillance says Nasdaq
As greater convergence between asset classes and the unification of trading desks and trading strategies across multiple asset classes becomes more common, the opportunities for sophisticated market abuse may be on the rise. That may mean that the need for surveillance is greater than ever, according to Tony Sio, head of SmartsTrade Surveillance, exchange and regulators at Nasdaq.
Cerutti steps down at Euronext
Euronext has announced that its chief executive Dominique Cerutti will step down in July to become chairman and chief executive at advanced engineering group Altran.
Europe’s CSDs are facing a regulatory squeeze warns Nasdaq
European banks and CSDs will be forced to change their business models under relentless pressure from Basel III, CSDR and T2S. That may involve consolidating services, as well as considering opportunities for collaboration, according to Henri Bergström, head of global post trade solutions at Nasdaq.
Volante lays Foundation for faster payment systems integration
Financial messaging and data integration specialist Volante Technologies has taken a step into the world of packaged products with the launch of VolPay Foundation, a development platform “designed to ease the challenges of payment integration and payment processing projects”.
CounterpartyLink adds hierarchy profiles to legal identity service
CounterpartyLink, a provider of legal entity intelligence for buy- and sell-side institutions and law enforcement agencies, has announced CPL Hierarchy Profile, a new product designed to provide a single view of the client across complex client groups.
MiFID II will prevent traders doing their job, TradeTech delegates told
The European Commission’s MiFID II legislation is a poorly thought-out, arbitrary and unclear piece of rulemaking that will prevent traders from being able to do their job. Worse still, a lack of clarity over the final details will inflict uncertainty and cost on market participants from now until 2017, according to delegates at TradeTech Paris this week.
Buy-side builds confidence as home-brew smart order routers gain ground
Buy-side firms stand to gain from developing their own smart order routers and carrying out their own capital markets research. But the growing independence of the buy-side must still be weighed against sell-side advantages of scale, according to speakers at the Trade Tech conference in Paris on Tuesday.
Boat to launch APA reporting service for MiFID II transparency
Boat Services, the OTC trade reporting service provider owned by technology vendor Cinnober, plans to introduce a MiFID II compliance solution, offering publication services for all instrument classes. It will apply for authorisation by the FCA in the UK when Approved Publication Arrangement registration is available in 2016.
