Posts by Anna Reitman

FATF, G20, stablecoins

So-called stablecoins have the potential to spur financial innovation and efficiency and improve financial inclusion. While stablecoins have so far only been adopted on a small-scale, new proposals have the…

IHS Markit launches Data Lake, uniting 1,000+ datasets into single platform

July 9, 2020

alternative data, data management, IHS Markit

IHS Markit announced the launch of its Data Lake, uniting its vast data assets into a single catalogued platform. The cloud-based platform stores, catalogues, and governs access to structured and…

Securities dealer Ardent to automate compliance functions with SteelEye

July 9, 2020

Ardent, automation, compliance, SteelEye

SteelEye, the compliance technology and data analytics firm, has been selected by Ardent Financial, a new FCA-authorized securities dealer, to provide MiFID II and MAR compliance services. Launched on 8th…

Cybersecurity firm Agari warns on increased sophistication of targeting executives with BEC attacks

July 9, 2020

Agari, cybersecurity

Agari, a provider of phishing defense solutions for the enterprise, revealed details of the threat actor group dubbed Cosmic Lynx, the first-ever reported Russian cybercriminal ring to conduct business email…

DTCC’s Project ION: the argument for blockchain’s benefit to brokers and the buy-side (Premium)

July 9, 2020

Blockchain, Settlements, Technology

broker-dealers, buy-side, DLT, DTCC, Project Ion, settlement, technology, topstory

DTCC’s project Ion is paving the way for distributed ledger technologies to make near-zero reconciliation utopia a reality. We look at what broker-dealers and the buy-side should know about what…

ARRC releases guide for moving internal systems and processes away from LIBOR

July 8, 2020

alternatives to LIBOR, ARRC

The Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) released the “Internal Systems and Processes: Transition Aid for SOFR Adoption” to support market participants transitioning to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), the…

Eurekahedge: AI and crypto fund performance flat in June

July 8, 2020

artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, Eurekahedge, hedge funds, machine learning

Fund managers using AI/machine learning strategies gained 1.48% in June. On a year-to-date basis, the Eurekahedge AI Hedge Fund Index is up 3.68% The Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund Index was…

Bankdata’s risk re-platforming with Murex pushes ahead with Danish banks

July 8, 2020

Bankdata, Murex

Murex announced that Danish IT service provider Bankdata has reached a new successful milestone in their front-to-back-to-risk re-platforming project. In 2016, Bankdata, Murex and Synechron began their partnership which will…

Deutsche Bank partners with Google for cloud and to develop advanced tech financial products

July 8, 2020

Deutsche Bank, Google Cloud

Deutsche Bank and Google Cloud have agreed to form a strategic partnership that aims to redefine how the bank develops and offers its financial services. The partnership includes cloud services…

Company Watch adds Covid-19 forecasting to what-if scenario tool in UK

July 8, 2020

Company Watch, COVID-19, predictive analytics

Company Watch, a commercial credit reference agency using predictive and financial risk management technology, has launched its unique Covid-19 Scenario Forecast H-Score tool. It’s used by organizations around the world…

MLex: NY Fed’s biggest financial stability concerns are cyberattacks, shadow banking

July 8, 2020

cyberattacks, NY Fed, Shadow Banking

The US Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s biggest financial stability worries are possible cyberattacks on the banking system and the migration of assets from banks to the less-regulated shadow-banking…

Fintech scandals under scrutiny as calls for regulatory intervention grow (Premium)

July 8, 2020

Technology

Balancer, Crypto, cybersecurity, fintech, Robinhood, technology, topstory, Wirecard

A series of scandals in the fintech industry has amplified calls for regulators to step in. We review some of the issues being raised and talk to an advanced tech…

Morning Consult: OCC, FDIC plan “true lender” rule in aggressive fintech agenda

July 7, 2020

FDIC, fintech, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Brian Brooks has set the tone for how he wants to leave a fintech-focused mark on the agency. Brooks…

FCA gives MTF license to derivatives venue Crypto Facilities

July 7, 2020

crypto derivatives, crypto exchanges, Crypto Facilities, crypto regulation, FCA, Kraken

Crypto Facilities, a subsidiary of Kraken, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Europe by euro trading volumes, has become the first cryptocurrency company to obtain a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) license…

Broadridge survey reveals how next-gen tech is being accelerated through pandemic

July 7, 2020

Broadridge, technology

More than half of financial services companies plan to accelerate implementation of their next generation technology strategies, according to a new global survey of 500 financial services C-Suite executives and…

Royal Society: optimizing for artificial intelligence ethics

July 7, 2020

AI ethics, artificial intelligence, ethical AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly deployed in commercial situations. Consider for example using AI to set prices of insurance products to be sold to a particular customer. There are legitimate…

BNP Paribas using advanced tech to automate asset servicing

July 7, 2020

Asset Servicing, automation, BNP Paribas, machine learning, NLG

BNP Paribas Securities Services has automated the processing of asset servicing documents using advanced technologies. The move, which took 12 months to implement, aims to increase straight-through processing rates and…

Clearstream and LCH EquityClear collaborate on new post-trade connection

July 7, 2020

Clearstream, LCH, settlement

LCH Ltd-cleared equities contracts to be eligible for settlement via Clearstream Global depository receipts and exchange-traded products in scope Clearstream Banking and LCH have agreed to make LCH-cleared equities contracts…

Tradeweb’s repo ADV up 11.9% YoY to $238.6bn in June

July 6, 2020

electronic repo, Money Markets, Tradeweb

Tradeweb just reported that its average daily volume (ADV) in June was $780.9 billion, a decrease of 8.9% year over year (YoY). For the second quarter of 2020, ADV was…

Get the weekly SFM update – our July 3 newsletter is online

July 3, 2020

Top Stories: Singapore’s Variable Capital Company plan is a tax play worth watching (Premium); ESG in secfinance: how Natixis is navigating sustainable investment (Premium); Client Webinar July 15: Revenues and…

Global custodians piling into DTCC’s Exception Manager ahead of CSDR

July 2, 2020

CSDR, Custodians, DTCC

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced that its Exception Manager global custodian community has grown to a total of 11, including BNY Mellon, Brown Brothers Harriman, Caceis, CIBC…

SIX chooses fintech Planixs for real-time treasury platform enhancements

July 2, 2020

Planixs, SIX, Treasury platforms

SIX has selected Planixs to enhance its real-time treasury platform with real-time liquidity management capabilities combined with cash management and operations, vostro (client account) liquidity services and real-time matching using…

DataLend: global seclending revenue down to $3.9bn in H1 2020, Americas buck downtrend

July 2, 2020

DataLend, revenues, Securities Lending

The global securities finance industry generated $3.89 billion in revenue for lenders in the first six months of 2020, according to DataLend, the market data division of fintech EquiLend. The…

ICMA details which repo and cash bond operations under focus in latest fintech update

July 2, 2020

fintech, ICMA

ICMA has updated its mapping directory of technology solutions for repo and cash bond operations. The directory now lists a total of 159 solutions, compared to 130 solutions last year…

BIS annual report reflects on 90-year history, pandemic present, and future innovation

July 1, 2020

annual report, BIS, Central Banks

Recent events have underscored how rigorous analysis, enriched by the variety of international experiences, can help central banks have better informed exchanges of views and learn from each other’s experience.…

FSB statement on the impact of COVID-19 on global benchmark reform

July 1, 2020

alternative benchmarks, benchmark reform, FSB

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has discussed the impact of COVID-19 on global benchmark transition. The FSB’s Official Sector Steering Group (OSSG) is monitoring the developments closely and recognizes that…

OCC securities lending CCP activity increases 16% in June 2020 year over year

July 1, 2020

OCC, Securities Lending CCPs

The average daily loan value at OCC in June 2020 was $76,216,532,318.42, an 8.19 percent decrease compared to June 2019. Securities lending CCP activity increased by 16.44 percent in new…

Cboe completes EuroCCP acquisition, plans European derivatives market in H1 2021

July 1, 2020

acquisitions, CBOE, derivatives, EuroCCP

Cboe Global Markets announced it has completed its acquisition of pan-European clearinghouse EuroCCP. The acquisition paves the way for the planned launch of Cboe Europe Derivatives, a new Amsterdam-based futures…

BIS expands innovation hub locations throughout Europe and North America

July 1, 2020

BIS, Central Banks, innovation

The Board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) announced the expansion of the BIS Innovation Hub with the establishment of new Hub centres across Europe and in North America…

Black Hat releases enterprise data risk survey

July 1, 2020

Black Hat, cybersecurity, enterprise

The rise of the global COVID-19 pandemic has made a huge impact on the cybersecurity industry. A majority of cybersecurity professionals believe that the risk to enterprise data is greater…

FDIC launches competition to modernize bank financial reporting

July 1, 2020

FDIC, fintech, regulatory reporting

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the start of a rapid prototyping competition to help develop a new and innovative approach to financial reporting, particularly for community banks. Twenty…

Ortex: Wirecard cost to borrow skyrocketing

July 1, 2020

fintech, Short selling, Wirecard

Hedge funds are “not done yet” with Wirecard, according to analysis by Ortex Analytics. A number of hedge funds have increased their short position since the company started insolvency proceedings…

QuantHouse to provide TSL machine learning capabilities as part of the QuantFactory cloud backtesting suite

July 1, 2020

machine learning, QuantHouse, TSL

QuantHouse announced that Trading System Lab (TSL) has added their machine learning capabilities as part of the QuantFactory cloud backtesting suite. QuantHouse is a global provider of end-to-end systematic trading…

ESG in secfinance: how Natixis is navigating sustainable investment (Premium)

July 1, 2020

Securities Finance, Collateral and Derivatives, Securities Lending

ESG, Natixis Asset Management, topstory

There are many reasons why institutional investors are looking for firms that adhere to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Some of the latest moves to boost the ethical investment…

HK crypto exchange launches centrally cleared and traded repo market

July 1, 2020

crypto derivatives, crypto exchanges, Hong Kong, Repo

Hong Kong-headquartered CoinFLEX, a physically delivered cryptocurrency futures exchange, announced the launch of its centrally traded repo market. The repo market aims to bridge the gap between directional perpetual traders,…

AcadiaSoft and OpenGamma team up for UMR compliance

June 30, 2020

AcadiaSoft, OpenGamma, UMR

AcadiaSoft announced a partnership with derivatives analytics firm OpenGamma to simplify the workflow for compliance of Phases 5 and 6 of the Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR). The partnership will integrate…

JPM: risk statistics in performance calculators – suitable and scalable?

June 26, 2020

Uncategorized

Investment performance and risk calculators have witnessed steady growth in functionality during the past couple of decades. Leveraging huge data management platforms that contain exception management and workflow capabilities, calculators…

Reuters: Brazil central bank suspends WhatsApp’s new payment system

June 26, 2020

Brazil, Central Banks, fintech

Brazil’s central bank effectively suspended a newly-launched system allowing users of Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service to send money via chats, ordering Visa and Mastercard to halt payments and transfers via…

FT: ASX under pressure to delay CHESS-blockchain replacement

June 26, 2020

ASX, blockchain, CHESS, DLT

ASX is under pressure to push back an ambitious plan to use blockchain technology to clear and settle trades in Australian equities because customers are worried about the implications of…

Cuemacro: political market making – trading financial markets using Thorfinn political indices

June 26, 2020

Cuemacro, quants, risk

It is challenging to understand how to model external shocks when trading financial markets. However, in recent years, it has become particularly notable that these risks, such as Brexit, the…

Get the weekly SFM update – our June 26 newsletter is online

June 26, 2020

Top Stories: Working through the practicalities of the UK decision to cancel CSDR’s settlement discipline regime (Premium); SFTR readiness: COVID crisis boosts electronic trading, but data pipes need work; We…

Fed releases stress test results, coronavirus sensitivity analyses, halts buybacks and caps dividends

June 25, 2020

coronavirus, Federal Reserve, stress tests

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday released the results of its stress tests for 2020 and additional sensitivity analyses that the Board conducted in light of the coronavirus event. “The…

FICC consults on best practices for algorithmic trading

June 25, 2020

algorithmic trading, FICC

The FICC Markets Standards Board (FMSB) released a statement on Good Practice on Algorithmic Trading in FICC Markets as a transparency draft for market consultation. As the use of computer…

IOSCO consults on AI/ML guidance for market intermediaries and asset managers

June 25, 2020

artificial intelligence, asset managers, IOSCO, machine learning

The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions is requesting feedback on proposed guidance to help its members regulate and supervise the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine…

Reuters: Wirecard is giving Europe’s fintech industry a timely stress test

June 25, 2020

bankruptcy, fintech, German

Germany’s Wirecard announced it was filing for insolvency, a week after revealing that €1.9 billion ($2.1bn) of its cash was missing. Its collapse will test whether fast-growing and lightly regulated…

SFTR readiness: COVID crisis boosts electronic trading, but data pipes need work

June 24, 2020

Regulatory, Securities Lending, SFTR

automation, CSDR, Equilend, GLMX, Pirum, SFTR, topstory, Tradeweb

The shock announcement from the UK that it would be changing SFTR for non-financial companies and settlement discipline has certainly been eyebrow-raising. However, Josh Galper, managing principal at Finadium, noted…

Cancelled: SFTR for UK’s NFCs and CSDR settlement discipline, as Brexit plans start appearing

June 23, 2020

Brexit, HM Treasury, SFTR

The UK will not be taking action to incorporate into UK law the reporting obligation of the EU’s Securities Financing Transactions Regulation for non-financial counterparties (NFCs), which is due to…

INTL FCStone and Eventus Systems partner on EMEA market surveillance

June 23, 2020

Eventus Systems, INTL FC Stone, machine learning, market surveillance