Posts by Josh Galper

CCPs, OCC

In the midst of record cleared contract volume, OCC, the world’s largest equity derivatives clearing organization, today released a paper titled, Optimizing Incentives, Resilience and Stability in Central Counterparty Clearing,…

CloudMargin Raises $15 Million in Series B Funding Round with Citi, Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Börse as Primary Investors

September 22, 2020

Citi, CloudMargin, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Borse

CloudMargin, creator of the world’s first and only collateral and margin management solution native to the cloud, today announced that it has closed on its largest funding round to date,…

European Commission grants 18 month equivalence to UK CCPs

September 22, 2020

Brexit, CCPs, European Commission

The European Commission yesterday adopted a time-limited decision to give financial market participants 18 months to reduce their exposure to UK central counterparties (CCPs). A CCP is an entity that…

ECB helps bank Leverage Ratios but doesn’t address the bigger Basel challenge (Premium)

September 22, 2020

Basel III, Regulatory

ECB, Leverage Ratio, Supplementary Leverage Ratio, topstory

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced last week that it would temporarily exempt central bank assets of supervised banks from the Basel III Leverage Ratio. This decision will free up…

Bank of England post on jumpstarting RMB internalization using FX Swaps

September 21, 2020

Bank of England, Bank Underground, China, FX Swaps, RMB

Jump-starting an international currency Saleem Bahaj and Ricardo Reis Only a handful of currencies are regularly used for cross-border payments: the euro, the yen, the pound, the yuan and, of…

A contrarian argument for tighter liquidity in US repo through year end (Premium)

September 21, 2020

Repo

Repo, topstory, US repo, volatility

A variety of market commentators are projecting calm US funding market conditions for the foreseeable future. The summer has certainly proven stable. That said, we can see a number of…

Bank of England to work on negative rate operational issues in Q4 2020

September 17, 2020

Bank of England, negative rates

Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting ending on 16 September 2020 The Committee had discussed its policy toolkit, and the effectiveness of negative policy rates in particular, in the…

ESMA renews lower short selling reporting threshold

September 17, 2020

ESMA DECISION of 16 September 2020 renewing the temporary requirement to natural or legal persons who have net short positions to lower the notification thresholds of net short positions in…

A consultant user’s view of ISLA’s new Securities Lending Performance Measurement guidance (Premium)

September 17, 2020

Securities Lending

ISLA, performance measurement, Securities Lending, topstory

ISLA kindly provided us a review copy of “Securities Lending Performance Measurement,” a new guidance issued last week by the Securities Lending Performance Measurement Working Group. We reviewed the specifics…

Finadium goes live with SFTR database, adds OFR repo to Repo Analytics tool

September 16, 2020

Regulatory, Repo, Securities Lending

Finadium, Repo, SFTR, topstory

Following our successful beta test, Finadium has gone live with client access to Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) data. We are also now capturing and presenting repo data from the…

SOFR volumes jump as packs and bundles liquidity arrives

September 16, 2020

CME, SOFR, SOFR futures

In recent weeks, CME SOFR futures trading volumes have accelerated to the highest levels since March. Following August’s average daily volume of 42K contracts, SOFR futures are averaging 60K contracts…

FT article speculates on impact of US prime money fund closures to funding markets

September 16, 2020

FT, Money Markets, prime funds, US

Asset managers overhaul money market funds after March rout — Joseph Abate, a managing director at Barclays, expects increased scrutiny over the size of the funds’ liquidity buffers, holdings and…

AI startup Saphyre gets deal with JPM Securities Services and BlackRock for custody account openings

September 16, 2020

News and Notes – Fintech

Blackrock, JP Morgan, Saphyre

Saphyre, a fintech company with US patent-approved AI technology, today announced that J.P. Morgan’s Securities Services and BlackRock have adopted its platform to digitize the account opening workflow, eliminating manual…

State Street Survey Finds Firms Unprepared to Comply with Uncleared Margin Rules Despite Deadline Extension

September 15, 2020

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) today released survey results that measured the perceptions, plans and readiness of 300 asset managers and asset allocators in 16 countries around the Uncleared Margin Rules…

Bank of England: hedge funds and mutual funds have an information advantage in UK gilt trading

September 15, 2020

Bank of England, hedge funds, mutual funds, UK

Informed trading in government bond markets Robert Czech, Shiyang Huang, Dong Lou and Tianyu Wang Government bond yields serve as a benchmark for virtually all other rates in financial markets.…

Finadium: Planning for Securities Finance After COVID-19

September 15, 2020

Basel III, CCP, Corporate governance, Securities Lending

Basel IV, Best Execution, CCPs, corporate governance, distributed ledger technology, securities finance, topstory

A new Finadium report delivers a core review of some of the most important trends facing the securities finance industry for a scenario analysis of potential outcomes. Continue reading

The big advances in OFR’s new repo data sets (Premium)

September 14, 2020

Repo

OFR, Repo, topstory, US

The US Office of Financial Research’s (OFR) release last week of daily repo data will benefit transparency for both the industry and systemic risk oversight. Finadium clients can now access…

The bombshell CFTC report on asset repricing based on climate change risk (Premium)

September 10, 2020

CFTC, Regulatory

CFTC, climate change, Regulatory, topstory

The US CFTC issued a first-of-its-kind report yesterday on the impact of climate change to financial markets. The document says that climate change poses direct risks to credit, investments and…

ICMA ERCC publishes fourth edition of its SFTR recommendations

September 9, 2020

ICMA, SFTR

The ICMA European Repo and Collateral Council (ERCC) has published today an updated version of the ICMA Recommendations for Reporting under SFTR. This is the fourth public edition of the…

Office of Financial Research releases US repo funding data

September 9, 2020

OFR, Repo, US

The U.S. Office of Financial Research (OFR) released its new U.S. Repo Markets Data Release, a prototype publication of daily data on repo markets, and unveiled the Short-term Funding Monitor,…

Finadium, Eurex and Natixis to host webinar on UMR and securities finance on 6 October

September 9, 2020

Derivatives, Regulatory, Repo, Securities Lending

Repo, Securities Lending, topstory, UMR

Finadium subscribers and friends of Natixis and Eurex are invited to attend a discussion on Uncleared Margin Rules and their impact on the securities finance market, including repo and securities…

Monetary Authority of Singapore Enhances Access to Liquidity Facilities to Strengthen Banking Sector Resilience

September 8, 2020

Liquidity, MAS, SGD, USD

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced measures to enhance the banking system’s access to Singapore dollar (SGD) and US dollar (USD) funding. The new measures will strengthen banking…

ICMA publishes a briefing note on CSDR mandatory buy-ins and the requirement to appoint a buy-in agent

September 8, 2020

CSDR, ICMA

The CSDR-SD regulatory technical standards require that in the case of failing non-cleared transactions, at the start of the mandatory buy-in process the purchasing party must appoint a buy-in agent.…

IHS Markit and Tokyo Stock Exchange to combine securities finance data sets

September 8, 2020

Data, IHS Markit, Short selling, stock loan, Tokyo Stock Exchange

IHS Markit Securities Finance and Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE), are combining mutually exclusive market data into a comprehensive and invaluable short selling and stock loan dataset. The combined IHS…

Who benefits from growth in peer to peer securities lending revenues (Premium)

September 8, 2020

Securities Lending

peer to peer, Securities Lending, topstory

The Global Peer Financing Association (GPFA) added three members last week in its effort to build a robust peer to peer securities lending framework. There is plenty of logic to…

Federal Reserve slightly adjusts stress tests results for Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs

September 7, 2020

Federal Reserve, stress tests

The Federal Reserve Board on Friday released corrected stress test results stemming from an error in projected trading losses and as a result, revised the capital requirements for two banks.…

Global Peer Financing Association adds Australian Super, CalSTRS and Thrivent Financial

September 4, 2020

GPFA announcement: Welcome new GPFA members, Australian Super, CalSTRS and Thrivent Financial. We are excited to broaden our membership base to other regions and asset owner types. Welcome!

Doors open for international access to China’s huge securities finance markets

September 3, 2020

China, Custodians, Repo, Securities Lending

Blackrock, China, Citi, Custody, JP Morgan Asset Management, Repo, Securities Lending, topstory

China’s securities markets are enormous, at over US$23 trillion in bonds and equities, and so is its repo and securities finance business. New rules allowing international firms to apply for…

Stradley Ronon: New DOL Rule Proposal Risks Chilling Proxy Voting and Shareholder Engagement

September 2, 2020

Department of Labor, proxy voting, Stradley Ronan, US

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its long-awaited proxy voting rule proposal on Aug. 31. If adopted without modification, fiduciaries of plans (e.g., investment managers) subject to the U.S. Employee Retirement…

European associations warn industry not ready for SRD II launch

September 2, 2020

On behalf the European Banking Federation (EBF), the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA), the Association of Global Custodians (AGC), the European Central…

TriOptima Extends Collaboration with AcadiaSoft to Improve Industry Standard for Collateral Interest Payments Processing

September 2, 2020

AcadiaSoft, TriOptima

TriOptima has extended its collaboration with AcadiaSoft to automate monthly collateral interest payments, making trade processing more efficient for over-the-counter (OTC) market participants. According to International Swap Dealers Association (ISDA)…

OCC securities lending CCP volume down 4.3% in August 2020 year over year

September 1, 2020

CCP, OCC, Securities Lending

The average daily loan value at OCC in August 2020 was $68,733,295,322, a 10.5 percent decrease compared to August 2019. Securities lending CCP activity decreased by 4.3 percent in new…

Bobsguide: vendors facing an uncertain future with CSDR delay

September 1, 2020

With a further delay to the EU’s Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) just announced, market participants and tech vendors face an uncertain future. “There’s a level of uncertainty and to…

Finadium launches SFTR database, invites clients for beta test

September 1, 2020

Europe, Repo, Securities Lending, SFTR

Data, Finadium, SFTR, topstory

Finadium has created a database of Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) reports from Trade Repositories, along with flexible data retrieval tools for users. The new database furthers Finadium’s plan to…

People’s Bank of China promotes repo as benchmark interest rate

August 31, 2020

benchmark rates, China, People's Bank of China, Repo

The People’s Bank of China Publishes the White Paper Participating in International Benchmark Interest Rate Reform and Improving China’s Benchmark Interest Rate System Although China started late, compared internationally, in…

Regulation Asia: Brokers Push Back Against ASIC Proposal to Limit CFD Leverage

August 31, 2020

Foreign exchange brokers expressed concerns that the proposals are overly stringent, infringe on investor freedoms, and may result in regulatory arbitrage. The full article is available at https://www.regulationasia.com/brokers-push-back-against-asic-proposal-to-limit-cfd-leverage/

The Fed’s new monetary policy plan has big impacts for securities lending (Premium)

August 31, 2020

Federal Reserve, Interest rates, Regulatory, Uncategorized

Federal Reserve, interest rates, monetary policy, topstory

The Federal Reserve announced the results of a major policy review last week. Their new perspective on inflation and employment has impacts on securities lending that should figure prominently into…

South Korea extends short selling ban for six months

August 28, 2020

From the South Korea Financial Services Commission TEMPORARY BAN ON SHORT SALE TO BE EXTENDED FOR SIX MONTHS The FSC announced its decision to extend the temporary ban on stock…

Vanguard reorganizes Prime Money Market Fund into a government money fund

August 28, 2020

government money markets, prime funds, Vanguard

Vanguard today announced the following changes to its taxable money market fund lineup: Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund will be reorganized into a government money market fund and renamed Vanguard…

ESMA postpones CSDR settlement discipline until February 2022

August 28, 2020

CSDR, ESMA, settlement discipline

This final report presents a new draft regulatory technical standard (‘RTS’) on postponing the date of entry into force of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 of 25 May 2018 supplementing…

Federal Open Market Committee announces approval of updates to its Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy

August 27, 2020

Federal Reserve, monetary policy

Following an extensive review that included numerous public events across the country, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Thursday announced the unanimous approval of updates to its Statement on…

US regulators provide flexibility to banks adopting CECL in 2020

August 27, 2020

CECL, US

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the agencies) are adopting a final…

Reuters: Vietnam considers introducing equities short-selling

August 27, 2020

Short selling, Vietnam

Vietnam’s finance ministry has proposed allowing short selling in shares for the first time, in a bid to boost trading volumes. “PASLA welcomes the news that Vietnam is exploring allowing…

Thailand SEC requests comments on plan to allow retail investor access to repo and reverse repo

August 27, 2020

Thailand SEC public hearing on drafted amendment regulations on repurchase or reverse repurchase agreement (repo/reverse repo) of the securities companies and the derivatives intermediaries Previously, the SEC conducted a public…

Nikkei Asian Review: Japan Securities Finance buys 10% stake in Pendanaan Efek Indonesia

August 27, 2020

Japan Securities Finance, Nikkei Asian Review, Pendanaan Efek Indonesia

Japan Securities Finance, a provider of capital for margin trades, has acquired a 10% interest in a group arm of the Indonesia Stock Exchange as it seeks to generate business…

UK Prudential Regulation Authority terminates risks-not-in-VAR temporary measure

August 27, 2020

Bank of England, CRR, UK, VaR

The PRA published ‘Statement on VAR back-testing exceptions temporary approach’ on Monday 30 March 2020, advising that it would conduct a review of the temporary approach that allows firms to…

SGX Partners with Cassini Systems on UMR

August 26, 2020

Cassini, SGX, UMR

(SGX), the world’s largest and fastest-growing Asian foreign exchange (FX) futures marketplace, and Cassini Systems, the leading provider of pre- and post-trade margin and collateral analytics for derivatives markets, have…

ISDA: CSDR delay until 1 February 2021 published in Official Journal of the EU

August 24, 2020

CSDR, ISDA

Today, the delay of the RTS for the CSDR settlement discipline regime from 13 September 2020 to 1 February 2021, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.…

ISLA publishes 13th Securities Lending Market Report

August 24, 2020

ISLA, Securities Lending