Quarterly Updates

This quarterly updates page provides a summary of market events and an outlook on the months ahead. The articles are listed below, the most recent first. Quarterly updates are sponsored by *FIS (formerly SunGard).

*FIS has acquired SunGard. Pushing the pace of financial technology, together we’ll help our clients solve technology challenges for their business.

Big Data comes to Securities Finance

December 16, 2015

Big Data has taken over retailers, governments and social media, and it is now coming to securities finance. Securities finance has always had to contend with a substantial amount of data, but big data presents a new and emerging complication. The change ahead of us is how much more data is created, how much further data needs to travel, and what else needs to done with it. This is where big data really earns its name.

Merging physical and synthetic finance: implementing change in technology and operations

October 1, 2015

It seems that the era of mergers between physical and synthetic finance businesses is finally upon us. While client preferences may lean towards one type of trade vs. another, there is no question that regulation is the major driver of change. When faced with a request for a securities loan vs. a total return swap, the swap may be both easier and less capital intensive. In the long-term this will create broad-based new dynamics in financial markets. But in the short-term, our clients are working to manage complex implementation and technology changes.

Strategies for Securities Finance Businesses

May 19, 2015

The securities finance industry is currently digesting the heavy meal that has been Basel III, CRD-IV, Dodd-Frank and related regional regulatory initiatives impacting the global market. This article looks at the three main options facing market participants in their business decision making, some negative and some positive, and offers SunGard findings on market trends.

Securities Lending: The Year That Was and What’s to Come for 2015

February 25, 2015

2014 was a very active year for securities lending. A dizzying array of new regulations were proposed, discussed and evaluated; counterparty indemnification and margin rules dominated the debate. This article takes a look at some of the main takeaways from the securities lending industry in 2014, and then a look at what’s ahead in the coming year.