HFT: The Movie – Eurex sets out the case for the defence
Germany’s Eurex derivatives exchange has posted a series of videos, in which it explores the role of HFT in providing liquidity to its order book.
WealthTech
Swift Innotribe Challenge London names semi-finalists
Swift’s Innotribe project has announced the fifteen semi-finalists for its startup challenge, which aims to help innovative new companies in financial services to get started.
Riding the OTC rollercoaster
As new rules for OTC derivatives take hold in Europe and in the US, banks and asset managers face a complex cocktail of mandatory clearing, reporting and increased collateral requirements.
CME Group partners with MarkitServ for OTC FX clearing
US derivatives giant CME Group and OTC trade processing service MarkitServ have connected to support clearing for OTC FX transactions, ahead of new regulations in the US and Europe on the central clearing of OTC contracts.
Interactive Data service aims to untangle transaction tax eligibilities
Market data vendor Interactive Data has responded to the introduction of Financial Transaction Taxes in France and Italy with a new service that supports the identification of instruments that are likely to be subject to them.
Mobile apps will boost wealth management sector
An analysis of mobile solutions for financial advisors concludes that applications to support client interaction and advisory services “will become one of the most industry-disruptive, but potentially most rewarding” developments in the wealth management sector. This is the main finding of Mobile Apps for Financial Advisors and Wealth Managers by Swiss research company MyPrivateBanking Research. […]
Risk data aggregation: the great unknowns revealed?
The Basel Committee is planning to start checking on firms’ risk data aggregation plans from early 2013 but awareness surrounding the issues remains low.
Firms face multimillion bill to address gaps in industry plans for T2S
There are “major discrepancies” in firms’ readiness for the implementation of Target2-Securities that leave “significant gaps” in the industry’s plans, according to new research carried out by Celent and Swift.
ConvergEx rolls out multi-legged options algos
Trading technology company ConvergEx Group has released a new suite of algorithms designed to capitalise on growing interest among market participants in multi-legged options trading strategies.
Cross asset trading to the fore for FPL delegates
While changes to the OTC derivatives world grab the headlines, trading is moving to a cross asset world, largely driven by regulation and standardisation – and after a few years of pain, firms may find that they are better off as a result.
Qatar Exchange introduces sponsored access
The Qatar Exchange has introduced sponsored access and market making for the first time, in a move intended to boost liquidity and make it easier for a wider pool of investors to access the market.
ESMA guidelines could reshape European market making
New guidelines published earlier this month by European regulator ESMA could have a major impact on market making across Europe, according to Matthew Coupe, director of regulation and market structure at NICE Actimize.
European exchanges unveil MSCI derivatives
European exchanges Eurex and NYSE Liffe are soon to list a host of new derivatives, based on MSCI indices. From March, market participants will be able to trade futures and options based on the MSCI World, MSCI Europe, MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific ex-Japan and futures on the MSCI Frontier Markets.
National Bank of Canada embraces Orc algos
The National Bank of Canada is to use algorithmic trading tools and market access from Nordic technology company Orc, through its subsidiary National Bank Financial.
NYSE Technologies adds social media sentiment tool
Market participants using NYSE Technologies’ market data feed SuperFeed and SFTI network will soon be able to get social media sentiment statistics, following a deal between NYSE and specialist company Social Market Analytics.
Will Dodd-Frank trade reporting prepare you for EMIR?
On February 28, most of the approximately 70 registered swap dealers will stumble across the finishing line for the remaining asset classes of the CFTC implementation of Dodd-Frank trade reporting regulations. Some may be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief.
Competitors blast lack of competition among exchanges
Senior market participants have expressed outrage that exchanges continue to charge high fees for market data, while MTFs still lack the means to compete on auctions and are not represented on international indices.
HFT: time to talk about how?
2012 seemed like the year of regulators taking a prolonged look at computer trading – defining what it might be, its potential effects, why it may be problematic. It is still far from clear that we have answers to these fundamental questions.
BME chief calls for less debt, more equity
Bank deleveraging may inadvertently spur a revival of equity markets, Antonio Zoido, chairman and chief executive at Spanish exchange group BME told delegates at the World Exchange Congress in London yesterday.
OTC derivatives reforms must be global, says DTCC
As new rules for the reporting of OTC derivatives draw closer around the globe, US post-trade services utility the DTCC is positioning itself as the provider of a global network of trade repositories – but OTC derivatives reform will only work if consistent measures are taken everywhere, says Stewart Macbeth, president and chief executive at the DTCC.
Securities lending: illuminating data?
Regulatory data collection tools have been refined, standardised identifiers nearly constructed and more frequent and granular reporting rolled into regulation. Now that regulators have this mass of data, what is the next step in linking it and putting it to use?
Activ expands Canadian coverage ahead of “naked access” ban
Market data and technology company Activ Financial has expanded its risk gateway tool to cover all Canadian exchanges, ahead of new rules that will require market participants in Canada to have pre-trade risk controls in place across all asset classes from next month.
Eurex inks deal with Taiwan Futures Exchange
The Taiwan Futures Exchange is to list futures and options on German derivatives exchange Eurex, following an agreement between the two bourses to make it easier for international investors to access each other’s markets round the clock.
Low frequency trading
Hats off to Rising Sum, which has built a platform that identifies investment opportunities “using the acquisition criteria favoured by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet’s highly successful investment vehicle”.
Banish Missed Trade Misery …
A study shows that 62% of City traders “admit to missing key investment or sell opportunities because they didn’t keep track of time zone differences”.
Rise of the machines: banks embrace automation despite the cost
Flawed decisions taken by machines are causing financial services firms to lose customers and suffer unexpected costs, according to new report by the Economist Intelligence unit. Yet retail banks are increasingly turning to technology to assess customers.
Industry “not ready” for OTC derivatives reform
Four out of five financial institutions are not ready for new regulations governing the trading, reporting and clearing of OTC derivatives, according to a new survey by US communications company IPC.
Eurex rejigs management as Reitz steps down from repo and bond subsidiaries
Peter Reitz, managing director of Eurex Repo and Eurex Bonds since 2006, has stepped down from the posts. He will continue to bear overall responsibility for the two subsidiaries on the Eurex Executive Board.
Chilean broker imports UK trading technology
Chilean broker Banchile, part of Santiago- based Banco de Chile, has deployed a brokerage platform from UK systems supplier Fidessa that will link it to international trading venues.
Nasdaq OMX expands and regroups technology business
Nasdaq OMX is to combine its market technology and corporate solutions businesses, in a move that it says will help the firm provide more transparency to customers and a stronger business proposition.
Headcount cull claims investment bankers
As job cuts continue to bite at some of the world’s largest banks and financial institutions, new figures from Bloomberg Industries reveal the scale of the cull driven by lacklustre macroeconomic performance in Europe, a declining stock market and tightening financial regulation.
Acleda Bank fuels Cambodian expansion with Temenos tools
Cambodia’s Acleda Bank has embarked on a massive programme of expansion in a bid to reach unbanked customers in the country, drawing on core banking technology provided by Swiss banking software company Temenos.
International clearers form ‘Liquidity Alliance’
An alliance between central securities depositories in Germany, Spain, Brazil, South Africa and Australia aims to tackle the expected global shortfall in collateral arising from tough new financial regulation.
Banks boost ICAP’s Traiana with $36 million investment
Interdealer broker ICAP has raised $36 million through the sale of a 12% stake in its Traiana post-trade processing and risk management business to a consortium of banks – Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citi, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Nomura, and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
March deadline for code to tackle fixing of interbank lending rates
European regulators have until March to impose a code of conduct on banks contributing to the creation of the Euribor interbank lending rate benchmark. The deadline is included in recommendations published by the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority following their joint work on benchmark rate-setting processes in the wake of the Barclays Libor scandal and other rate-fixing revelations.
BATS trading errors highlight perils of technology arms race
US exchange operator BATS Global Markets’ revelation earlier this week that it may have accidentally breached best execution regulation on thousands of client transactions over a four-year period has been criticised by senior buy-side traders, who have expressed disappointment at the failure of exchanges to serve long-term investors.
JP Morgan trade platform promises joined-up thinking
JP Morgan has begun rollout of its new multi-asset class trading platform, JP Morgan Markets, which the firm says will make it easier for clients to bring together different elements such as research and analytics and convert them into successful trades.
“Fragile” US equity market structure needs attention
The recent market data glitch on US consolidated tape C, in which investors were unable to view Nasdaq-listed stocks, highlights the need for regulation on resilience, according to Frederic Ponzo, managing partner at capital markets consultancy GreySpark Partners.
“Lobby wars” will hurt buy-side interests in Brussels says SunGard exec
As the European Commission prepares new rules that will reform Europe’s capital markets, buy-side market participants must be careful to ensure that they are not misunderstood and even side-lined by politicians in Brussels, warns David Morgan, director for trading and client connectivity, capital markets at financial technology provider SunGard.
Unbundling tops banking reform recommendations
Global investment banks need to stop focusing on easy opportunities and start innovating, according to a new report by US business consultancy AlixPartners – even if that means unbundling services and embracing smaller financial institutions as allies.
