SIX Swiss Exchange is to launch a new trading platform for corporate bonds, which it says will provide a better way of trading large blocks of less liquid issues. The new platform is due to launch in the first half of 2015.
Jan Verplancke is stepping down as chief information officer and group head of technology and operations at Standard Chartered, as is Richard Goulding, chief risk officer. The news of their departure comes as the banks announced further restructuring, including the closure of its institutional cash equities, equity research and equity capital markets businesses as part of a strategic plan to ditch “non-core or underperforming businesses”.
When first reports of an integrated communications project that had attracted a $66 million investment from a consortium of banks led by Goldman Sachs appeared last year, there was an element of cloak and dagger about the enterprise. The truth is both more prosaic and more interesting according to David Gurle, chief executive and founder of the company behind it.
Derivatives market participants are concerned about the impact of new margin requirements for non-cleared derivatives under Basel III, with a large number unsure whether they will even have to comply with the rules, according to new survey published today by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.
Digital and alternative currencies, including Bitcoin, can now be used for transactions in California, following the implementation of bill AB129 on 1 January 2015. The new bill is a step forward for cryptocurrencies which have faced tough opposition and scrutiny from global regulators. However, serious doubts about the safety of digital currencies have been voiced by banks.
Spain’s BME is poised to open a new trading route from London to Madrid, which it says will increase the speed of access to the Spanish stock market for investors in London.
ICAP is combining its EBS foreign exchange and BrokerTec fixed income electronic trading platforms into one business unit. The change is“an internal management reorganisation” and the platforms will remain separate for the foreseeable future.
Following its success during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy this year, alternative currency Bitcoin is gaining popularity and could be poised for major growth in 2015. But the currency still has a long way to go before it catches up with rivals such as PayPal, Visa and MasterCard.
A platform for sharing cyber-security threat intelligence among financial services companies has been launched by US post-trade utility the DTCC and non-profit security organisation FS-ISAC. Called Soltra Edge, the platform gathers data about cyber-security threats and converts it into a standardised format for sharing.
Despite tensions between Russia and NATO over the situation in east Ukraine, the underlying internationalisation and reform agenda in Moscow has not changed, according to Russian broker BCS.
India’s Bombay Stock Exchange has ramped up its network application and monitoring speeds and opened a new investor service centre in New Delhi, as it seeks to attract latency-sensitive traders.
As Europe and the US seek to reform the non-equity asset classes under the MiFID II, EMIR and Dodd Frank regulations, significant challenges remain to ensure harmonisation and transparency for investors.
The securities industry is suffering from “innovatism”, a serious disease that if untreated could result in significant damage by detracting attention away from genuine business growth. At the same time, commercial pressures could force radical change in several areas of the capital markets, according to panellists at a debate hosted by Mondo Visione this week.
The introduction of T+2 has marked another milestone in the effort to reduce systemic risk for firms trading European securities. But what about other asset classes, such as derivatives? The inconvenient truth is that the world of derivatives, which some view as a much riskier investment choice, lags a long way behind equities in terms of operational efficiency.
Capital markets firms often have little idea how much they are spending on technology and even less control, according to a new report by Tabb Group and Thomson Reuters. The report’s authors call for greater emphasis on data, which could help to save the half a million dollars per front office employee spent on technology every year.
A landmark deal between China’s Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges is set to open up unrestricted access to the China A-shares market to foreign investors for the first time, starting this month. The deal also reflects the rising internationalisation of the Chinese renminbi currency worldwide.
Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian Government announced its plans to introduce a digital currency, the first of its kind globally. In a country where 40% of citizens don’t have a bank account according to The Economist, this has the potential to transform banking and allow companies to gain access to those without a bank account for the first time
Currency site XE.com and money transfer business Currency Cloud plan to launch a new international payments service called XE Money Transfers before the end of this year, which they claim will make foreign exchange transactions more transparent.
Greater information sharing and closer collaboration between the public and private sectors are needed to combat cyber-attacks, which are now the principal concern of the financial services industry, according to the DTCC. A top priority should be the creation of global industry working groups to engage with national regulators on the development of cyber-security regulations that address the real-time and evolving nature of cyber-threats.
The regulatory spotlight is shining on high frequency traders and dark pools, but the technological changes that have driven down trading costs for everyone will not be reversed. With market making increasingly the preserve of profit maximising algorithmic traders, there is a growing responsibility on institutions to control where their trades are going and how they are being executed. Those that do not are writing checks to HFTs with clients’ money
Dramatic reforms to the post-trade environment in Spain are poised to change the way trades are settled, as one of Europe’s top five markets prepares to open an equities CCP for the first time next year.
The European Commission has introduced new rules designed to encourage investment and trigger liquidity – including the use of “high quality” securitisation. The move has been welcomed cautiously by experts, despite the controversial role of securitisation in the financial crisis.
Banks and brokers in Europe are bracing themselves for ‘double witching day’ on Wednesday, in which two days’ worth of trades are expected to settle on a single day, as 25 European nations move to T+2 settlement for the first time.
Direct connectivity to the Target2-Securities settlement platform will give participants the opportunity to build new business models, access new markets more easily and deliver new services to clients, said a white paper, Taking the Direct Route to T2S: the industry view, released this week by Swift. Ten representatives of organisations that have decided to become directly connected parties (DCPs) were interviewed by Swift about their decisions to become DCPs and their plans for T2S participation.
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and Euroclear have taken the first steps towards the creation of a global collateral processing utility with the announcement that they plan to create a UK-based joint venture, DTCC-Euroclear Global Collateral.
Banks can reduce the headaches associated with cost pressure, tough new regulation, legacy business complexity and changing customer demands by outsourcing non-core areas of business. That is the idea behind two new corporate actions products launched by financial technology vendor SunGard.
Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) has launched Global Broker-Dealer Services, an outsourcing solution aimed at institutional brokers, mid-tier banks and broker dealers. The fully integrated global service includes middle-office services, back-office processing and post-trade services.
The original concept of the ISO 20022 was to create a repository of data used in financial messaging to communicate business information of any type – and to be able to add any types of data that might arise in the future. There has been a lot of focus on the use of the standard in payments and securities messaging roles, this has obscured its current and potential use in other areas.
The competition that will be introduced by the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) Target2-Securities (T2S) project among CSDs is an “opportunity” said Jesús Benito, chief executive at Iberclear. In simplifying the post-trade infrastructure of Europe, T2S is prompting new competitive forces, market entrants, challenges and even creating new words.
Global financial markets are experiencing a paradigm shift as governments, regulators and participants recalibrate the processes and structures underpinning global finance. The challenge is to repair and remedy where needed, with dialogue between central banks, regulators and participants, but also to avoid creating fragmented markets or worse, unintentionally reintroducing risk.
A sustained rally in frontier markets is leading an expansion of size and liquidity as investors seek opportunities that are not available in the developed or emerging markets, according to a new report by research house Aite.
Swiss post-trade company SIX Securities Services has allied with Belgium’s Euroclear Bank in a deal aimed at Swiss private banks and their high net worth customers.
London and Singapore are fast closing the gap on Hong Kong in the race to become centres for offshore renminbi business and capitalise on Beijing’s ambition to make the RMB a global currency.
Regulators in the US and Europe are stepping up investigations into dark pool activity, market abuse and manipulation of financial benchmarks following a spate of damaging incidents in recent months. Tougher regulatory oversight could have a significant impact on all three areas, according to a new report by financial services technology provider SunGard.
A new app-based social network that uses gamification concepts to train traders and help them to hone their skills has been launched by a former Deutsche Bank trader.
As the global banks grapple with tides of regulation, fines, and a myriad of other post-crisis issues, local Asian institutions are tooling up and stepping in to fill the gaps.
ACI, the foreign exchange industry body, has called for the adoption of a new Model Code for sell-side and buy-side firms on financial benchmarks, to harmonise codes of conduct and prevent a recurrence of the Libor and other recent rate fixing scandals.
Firms in Hong Kong are ramping up system roll-outs in anticipation of the forthcoming Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, scheduled to go live in mid-October.
But the proposed link will face a number of problems,
A Financial Conduct Authority investigation that found banks and brokers are failing to provide best execution highlights the need for more responsibility and education among their buy-side customers.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the trade reporting rules for OTC derivatives, in a move that suggests Australia is learning the lessons of OTC reforms in other countries.
