EY seeks start-up to solve data privacy challenges
EY is inviting start-up tech companies to compete in a competition looking for solutions to the problems posed by “right to be forgotten” regulations.
Risk Management
Faisal Bank gets to grips with Islamic risks
As demand for Islamic banking services continues to rise, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt has overhauled its risk management to better handle the unique needs of ethical banking.
Trading automation, regulations, and systemic risk
The financial services industry has always pursued technical supremacy. But after years of financial crisis and attempted reforms to improve the transparency and understanding of risk exposure in financial services, we seem as much in the dark as ever …
Standard Chartered NY forced to suspend clearing following AML concerns
Standard Chartered Bank’s New York business has been ordered to suspend US dollar clearing services to retail clients of the bank in Hong Kong, following an investigation by the New York State Department which determined its transaction monitoring system does not meet anti-money laundering requirements.
Deutsche Bank steals RBS’ Marcar, ramps up US presence
Deutsche Bank has poached Scott Marcar, previously at RBS, to head up its IT infrastructure as the bank prepares to ramp up competition against its rivals.
FX industry calls for greater accountability on IBOR benchmarks
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.
Capital markets big data ‘still at an early stage’ says Thomson Reuters
Most capital markets firms are still not using big data and even those that do often lack a concerted strategy, according to a new report commissioned by Thomson Reuters.
Ready for the ‘summer of 39’ aftermath?
This summer, regulatory pressure on financial services firms has ratcheted up to unprecedented levels. Many may have breathed a sigh of relief as Dodd-Frank rule-making slowed … but the respite was only fleeting. Since July, the industry has been bombarded with 39 new consultation papers in the EU and UK alone
Don’t drown in over-regulation
It should be no shock that the risk for banks of being caught-out for non-compliant activity has soared in recent years in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008. Banks are being monitored more closely now than ever before and it’s been difficult to escape without scrutiny or a heavy reputational impact.
EMIR trade reporting deadline takes effect – but where are the standards?
New European rules that require banks, brokers and clients to report their daily market positions and collateral values to trade repositories came into effect yesterday. But European regulator ESMA made no clarification about models, leaving the question of how to report up to the market. That could cause problems, market participants have warned.
UK looks to cryptocurrencies and FinTech to boost economy
The UK Government is to examine the potential of digital currencies as positive force in the wider economy and as a means of encouraging innovation in financial services.
Best execution failures: there’s blame on both sides
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.
US, EU regulators examine ‘time traveller’ trades from space
Regulators in Europe and the US are struggling to get to grips with trades that appear to be travelling back in time. Led by the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, new efforts are underway to synchronise time, with the help of atomic clocks.
Intraday liquidity reporting poses challenge for banks says Swift
New intraday liquidity reporting tools set out by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision could pose a serious challenge for banks, according to a new white paper by Swift.
Dark pools are unfairly damaging exchanges warns report
Trading rules in the US are giving dark pools an unfair advantage over exchanges and could be damaging liquidity, according to a new report by the Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre.
ASIC consults on OTC derivatives reform
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.
Facing up to the Financial Transaction Tax
A European financial transaction tax on equities and derivatives trades could be damaging for European liquidity levels and the City of London, but it also looks set to impose serious operational challenges for banks, brokers and their buy-side clients following the failure of a UK appeal to the European Court of Justice earlier this year.
CFTC’s O’Malia warns regulators to “Do No Harm”
Commissioner Scott O’Malia of the US Commodity and Futures Trading Commission has called for continuing international co-operation on market surveillance and warned that current oversight mechanisms are flawed in terms of the data they collect and the way that they analyse it.
UK to launch competition investigation into retail banking
Essential parts of the UK retail banking sector lack effective competition and do not meet the needs of personal consumers or SMEs, according to government body the Competition and Markets Authority, which is now planning to launch a full investigation that could last 18 months.
Know thine algo: how to define it, prove it, tame it. Part 1
Regulators across the globe appear divided on the question of whether tighter control of algorithmic trading is necessary: the Australians are pretty laid back about it, the Germans are ahead of the game, while political debate rages in the US …
Don’t blame exchanges for “expensive” market data says Deutsche Börse
It is often said that market data in Europe is too expensive, but it would be unfair to blame that solely on the exchanges, according to Christiane Baumgarten, vice president, market data and services at Deutsche Börse (right). With the consolidated tape mandated by MiFID II due by 2016, market data is at the centre of the European Commission’s plans for a better trading environment in Europe.
MiFID II headache intensifies as ESMA deadline draws near
MiFID II could cause serious problems for banks, brokers and other market participants in the run up to the January 2017 implementation, according to executives attending a meeting chaired by the European Securities Markets Authority in Paris earlier this week.
China moves cautiously towards options market launch this year
As China prepares to open an options market for the first time later this year, big changes are afoot in Asia’s biggest market. French trading technology specialist Horizon Software talks to Banking Technology about the kind of tools that will be needed to liberalise the Chinese economy.
Cinnober plots new course for BOAT trade reporting service
Trading technology specialist Cinnober has big plans for BOAT, the trade reporting service it acquired from Markit on 1 July – including new asset classes, a new focus on banks and brokers, and a renewed push at data quality.
EU sets date for MiFID II as transparency debate intensifies
The EU has set a date for the introduction of MiFID II, the long-awaited legislation from the European Commission which was recently approved by the European Parliament. The decision follows years of consultation and negotiation, but serious reservations remain about how transparency will be applied to non-equity markets.
European T+2 migration obliges post-trade reform says Fidessa
Shortening settlement cycles and increased regulatory oversight are pushing financial institutions to reform their post-trade processes. That can only be a good thing, according to a new whitepaper from trading technology specialist Fidessa.
Macquarie revamps reconciliation with Gresham Computing and Amazon Web Services
Australian broker Macquarie Futures has begun using a cloud-based reconciliation service from Gresham Computing and Amazon Web Services, which the broker says will help it to make its North American derivatives business more efficient.
ESMA defiant over OTC trade reporting guidance
The European Securities and Markets Authority has disputed claims that it should be doing more to help financial institutions connect with trade repositories, following industry complaints that the regulator has not allowed enough time, has issued key specifications at the last minute, and is now scaling back its involvement with the job unfinished.
BBA calls on Bank of England to protect challenger banks
The BBA has called for regulators to do more to improve competition in UK retail banking by making changes to the way payments, capital, access to funding and proportionality of regulation are handled and opening up more opportunities for challenger banks.
Funds industry coming to terms with AIFMD as deadline approaches
Fund managers are showing a “significantly more positive attitude” to the imminent Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. Initial fears appear to have subsided, the challenges and predicted costs have significantly reduced and the industry is realising the opportunities.
Market manipulation detection firm offers “Pepsi Challenge” with new system
One company grateful for the flurry of publicity given to the practice of front-running orders by the publication of Michael Lewis’s book Flash Boys earlier this year is New York-based Trillium, whose Surveyor market manipulation detection tool can be used to detect the practice.
T+2: Settlement Time
In April, US post-trade utility the DTCC called for the US settlement cycle to be moved to T+2, to bring it into line with what’s happening in the rest of the world, which is converging on T+2 settlement cycles – at different speeds.
Tullett Prebon launches aggregated SDR feed for interest rate swaps
Tullett Prebon has launched an aggregated swap data repositories data feed for the interest rate swaps market, aiming to increase price transparency in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Act.
Outsourcing: making oversight a forward-looking benefit
Could the establishment of an enhanced outsourcing oversight capability do more for asset managers than simply satisfy the FCA? A more mature set of oversight metrics could be used to provide foresight into how the outsourcer might perform in the future.
Bank of England tackles “critical” cybercrime attacks
A major new effort spearheaded by the Bank of England and the UK Treasury has been launched to shore up the cyber defences of the UK financial services industry, amid rising concerns that testing has exposed serious unaddressed weaknesses.
Risk aggregation and reporting challenges intensify for banks
The past month has been a busy one for G-SIBs – global systemically important banks – as they confront the challenges of “what full compliance looks like” in the context of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and its Principles for Effective Risk Data Aggregation and Risk Reporting.
SIX to set up Swiss trade repository for OTC derivatives
Switzerland’s SIX Group is planning to set up a central trade repository or derivatives transactions together with a group of Swiss banks, in a move the company says will increase transparency and traceability of derivatives transactions. The project is based on the Swiss Financial Market infrastructure Act, a new piece of federal legislation which seeks […]
The race is on: banks and regulators prepare for AML changes
The European Union and the larger international policy community have given substantial attention to anti-money laundering regimes this year, cueing both financial institutions and regulators to begin the race to implement and enforce respectively, writes Aamir Khan, general counsel and head of London office at Clutch Group.
Canadian exchange pursues “fairer markets” with MillenniumIT deal
Canadian ‘challenger’ exchange Aequitas, which plans to favour long-term investors by discouraging HFT, has chosen a trading engine and several other tools from MillenniumIT, the Sri Lanka-based technology company owned by the London stock Exchange.
Card costs still too high say retailers
Despite falling costs, banks are continuing to charge “unjustifiable” fees that rip off retailers and consumers as they move away from cash towards debit cards and other forms of payment, according to the British Retail Consortium’s Payments Survey for 2013.
