ICAP’s new London SEF targets OTC derivatives
ICAP has launched a swap execution facility in the UK, as part of a push to dominate both the European and the US OTC derivatives markets as they are brought under new regulation.
Treasury & Capital Markets/TCM
Big Data and data management in capital markets
The capital markets industry continues to be amongst the top data driven industries. Electronic trading generates millions of market messages during a given day. With diminishing returns in high-frequency trading, focus has shifted from high-speed trading to looking for patterns in large volumes of market data for financial information and use cases.
Swift Innotribe Startup Challenge names European finalists
Swift’s Innotribe Startup Challenge has named the five European finalists for its annual competition, which seeks to find the best new companies in financial services and bring them to compete in the final at Sibos Boston in October.
The looming spectre of a Financial Transaction Tax
The introduction of a financial transaction tax could mean London losing a swathe of banking business to financial centres with a lighter regulatory regime, such as Hong Kong or Singapore not to mention the logistical and technical challenges for banks.
If T2S is the answer, what’s the question?
The purpose of the European Central Bank’s T2S project is ill-defined and taking so long to deliver that it is being pushed aside by other projects according to speakers at the Swift Business Forum in London.
Trade reporting uncertainty raises “multiple problems”
Nearly three months after the European Commission’s 12 February deadline for trade reporting, market participants are still not ready to report their derivative trades and serious problems remain with understanding the rules.
DTCC pushes move to T+2 settlement for US markets
US clearing body the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation is pushing a move to shorten the settlement cycle for the US markets to T+2, claiming support from industry bodies and firms including JP Morgan.
Breaking bit
Bitcoin is the poster child of the cryptocurrency world, but it’s not alone. Michael Mainelli and Bob McDowell take a look at the real-world implications of the rise of AltCoins
ICAP connects with Perseus for Brazilian HFT service
Broker ICAP will use high-frequency trading infrastructure from specialist Perseus Telecom as it seeks to expand its coverage across Brazil and Latin America. ICAP is already active in the region, where it connects to São Paulo and Mexico City. The Perseus LiquidPath service provides connectivity, hosting, consulting, and real time monitoring, and includes HFT services […]
Flash Boys ‘star’ Ronan Ryan says market better off without HFT
One of the central characters featured in Michael Lewis’ controversial book Flash Boys, has added fuel to the fire of debate over high frequency trading by claiming that in a market with less HFT, average order sizes would get larger and long-term investors would benefit.
Algo tagging: where’s the logic in that?
When the requirement brought about by the German high frequency trading act to tag algorithms comes into force this month, market participants may well feel hamstrung by the complexity of the regime – and some might wonder whether this requirement goes one step too far …
Firms still struggling with SEFs for swaps trading says IPC survey
Trading firms are still struggling with the Dodd-Frank requirement for certain swaps to be traded on registered Swap Execution Facilities. According to a survey conducted by trading communications vendor IPC Systems, 60% of survey respondents said the industry as a whole was behind on meeting the deadlines on SEF trading, though only 39% said their […]
Bitcoin: the indestructible currency?
Despite the high profile media scandals surrounding the demise of the Mt Gox exchange and the Silk Road trading website, Bitcoin is evolving rapidly and will soon present a better, more stable and accountable alternative to the fiat currencies most of us trust and use every day, according to Mark Lamb, chief executive of London-based Bitcoin exchange Coinfloor.
EU financial markets – from fragmentation to harmony?
Consolidation of market infrastructure in Europe will continue, as firms choose post-trade service providers that meet their needs in terms of cost-effectiveness or value-added services. However, some of the real cost issues in Europe are still to be addressed.
Equity markets “not broken” say TradeTech speakers
Despite the deep controversy created by Michael Lewis’ expose of HFT Flash Boys, global equity markets are not broken, according to a senior capital markets panel at Trade Tech Paris 2014.
You think SEPA is over? Think again
Banks should be wary of jumping the gun and assuming that SEPA implementation is a done deal. Far from being over, the task of learning to live with SEPA is just beginning.
EBS rolls out mobile FX app
FX trading service EBS has launched Watch EBS, a new mobile app that is designed to show users the global spot FX market in as close to real time as possible.
What’s giving high-frequency traders the jitters?
What is the latest technological snag affecting high-speed trading performance? In a word, jitter – a major risk, particularly when carrying out arbitrage.
Transparency: the new wonder drug?
While transparency may be seen as a new wonder drug that will cure all the industry’s ills, it does not come without side effects, so it was refreshing to see ESMA promoting a collaborative approach with the industry in defining the details of how MiFID II and MiFIR are implemented.
US risk spend hits new peak reports DTCC
US financial institutions are spending more on risk mitigation than ever before, according to a new study by post-trade services utility the DTCC.
CFTC calls for international swaps data sharing deal
Global standards and approaches to regulation need to focus more on removing risk from the financial system rather than on compliance – but to do so international regulators will need to harmonise their efforts and embrace technology to a much greater degree.
If you’re not ready, the regulators will get you
The complexity of regulatory reforms in Europe and the US are placing pressure on the industry and may catch some participants unawares.
Outfoxing the fixed income fracas
Fixed income is a bit like the tortoise of Aesop’s fables, while equities is unquestionably the rambunctious hare. While equities finished the race towards an agency trading model many years ago, fixed income is just plodding onto the starting lines now. But a little outsourcing may provide the rocket boost the industry needs to push ahead, according to Carl James, managing director of dealing services UK at BNP Paribas.
Lombard Risk in global collateral management deal with Broadridge
Broadridge Financial Solutions has formed an alliance with UK software developer Lombard Risk Management under which Lombard’s collateral management system will be integrated into Broadridge’s applications and infrastructure services.
Manual processes and bottlenecks threaten to throttle OTC derivatives reform
Regulatory change in the OTC derivatives market has produced serious problems that indicate a clear need for more automation of cleared derivatives post-trade processing, according to a new report published by research house Greenwich Associates.
Ukraine, Turkey and Russia crises pose banking challenge
Political turbulence in the Ukraine, Russia and Turkey this year produced disagreement between senior financial industry executives at a FIX Trading Community conference in London yesterday, with some arguing that politics should not be allowed to detract from the longer-term rise of non-western economies and others arguing the opposite.
Making sense of data poses challenge for trading firms
Despite efforts to create a more transparent OTC derivatives market, market data costs have increased significantly since 2008 and the buy-side has very little to show for it, according to senior financial executives speaking at an event organised by FIX Protocol in London on 6 March.
ABN Amro launches global FIX trading push
ABN Amro Clearing has launched a new global trading platform for equities and futures which it says can route clients between Asia, Europe and the US using a single FIX connection.
BGC Partners to launch Islamic murabaha contracts in Dubai
US broker BGC Partners and UAE government-run free zone the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre have done a deal to promote Islamic ‘Murabaha’ products, as part of a drive to turn Dubai into an Islamic finance hub. The DMCC has a trade platform called DMCC Tradeflow, which operates in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers Free Zone. A […]
Saxo Bank debuts retail and institutional futures spread trading
Denmark’s Saxo Bank has introduced futures spread trading onto its online trading and investment platform for retail and institutional clients, in a move the bank says will give investors access to a low-volatility trading style.
Greece’s derivatives market adopts LSE reporting service
Greece’s Hellenic Exchanges Group, which runs the Athens Stock Exchange and Athens Derivatives Exchange, has chosen to buy services from the London Stock Exchange to help it cope with tough new European trade reporting rules.
FIX publishes guidelines for equities TCA
Industry standards organisation the FIX Trading Community has published its guidelines for transaction cost analysis in equities, which it says will help to create a better market by clearing up the competing methodologies and definitions that are currently in use.
Known Unknowns: preparing for SEF-traded FX options
The Dodd-Frank Act launched the acronym SEF into the alphabet soup of modern capital markets, After three years of repeated discussions, consultations, submissions and furious wrangling, Swap Execution Facilities finally come into operation this week.
Futures algos come of age
Long-only institutional investors are increasingly turning towards advanced futures trading strategies that have previously been the preserve of hedge funds and proprietary trading shops, according to a new report published by Tabb Group and Fidessa.
Estimating Libor damage past – automating index surveillance future
In the wake of scandals involving manipulation of market indices, can statistical learning theory be used to detect and fix anomalies in Libor and other market indices?
Omani Bank Muscat automates investments with Charles River tools
Oman’s Bank Muscat has installed tech firm Charles River’s investment management solution for its asset management business in the Arabian country, which covers equity and fixed income.
Instinet algo will ‘Make’ large orders viable
Broker Instinet has released Make, a new algorithm which it says will help traders to shift large orders more cautiously without disturbing the market.
Final countdown to EMIR underway
A week before the final reporting deadline for the European Commission’s EMIR regulation, tech firms are making a last push to get OTC trade reporting up and running.
Citi extends securities lending platform to Russia
Citi has begun lending services in Russian securities through its OpenLend platform, which the bank says will help investors to diversify into promising emerging markets.
Bloomberg adds Onetick CEP engine to Professional service
Bloomberg’s execution management system has begun using a complex event processing engine from tick data and analytics specialist OneMarketData to support its intra-day trading analytics.
