Next month, the European Commission’s EMIR regulation on the central clearing and reporting of OTC derivatives is due to take effect in Germany. Investment managers Insight Investment and OFI Asset Management have begun clearing OTC derivatives on Eurex via its new service, EurexOTC Clear.
Payment protection insurance has dominated the coverage of complaints against banks for some time now, but many observers think that it is just the beginning of a wave of grievances about to engulf the retail banking industry.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is seeking to attract long-term investors who have become disillusioned with equity markets. Its new trading system, Instinct Natural, is a crossing network that is clearly geared towards customers that want to trade in blocks. But market participants have expressed concerns about its potential to meet the needs of long-term investors.
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi is strengthening the resilience of its internal technology as it seeks to embrace mobile and expand its coverage beyond the United Arab Emirates.
Cover Story: The SEPA end date is now just a year away. Is everybody ready? Of course not.
Indian exchange MCX Stock Exchange has set a date to begin trading in equity derivatives, in a move that opens up a new front in the competition between India’s dominant BSE and NSE exchanges.
As Asian markets continue to lure international investors, participants on Japan’s new Exchange will now be able to get market access and algorithmic trading tools from data and analytics company S&P Capital IQ, which has chosen to locate itself at KVH’s datacentre in Tokyo.
Further evidence that bank IT spending is growing again comes from industry analysts at Ovum, which is predicting overall growth of 3.4% among retail banks, reaching $118.6 billion in 2013, as they focus on “customer satisfaction and revenue growth”.
The imposition of an £8 million fine against defunct Canadian day trading firm Swift Trade earlier this week illustrates the potential for abusive strategies that distort markets – and the need for a new approach from regulators, according to Matthew Coupe, director of regulation and market structure at NICE Actimize.
Hats off to Rising Sum, which has built a platform that identifies investment opportunities “using the acquisition criteria favoured by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet’s highly successful investment vehicle”.
Technical problems at Nasdaq and BATS have reinforced the impression among many market observers that there may be something seriously wrong with equity market structure. Recent history reads like a catalogue of disaster for many of the world’s most prominent trading venues.
As the global payments markets changes, Western Union has plans to change with it. Massimiliano Alvisini, regional director UK, Ireland & Nordics explains how and why.
New research from Experian shows that “only 65% of euro transactions have fully accurate destination routing data and 12% of electronic payments made to and from businesses in euros currently contain data errors”.
UK retail banks could be forced to share branch premises with rivals under plans to increase competition in the market, according to the chief executive of the UK’s Office of Fair Trading, Clive Maxwell.
Russia’s central securities depository NSD is to get a complete business intelligence overhaul through a joint project with consultancy Optima Group. The deal should help bolster NSD as one of the key pieces in the government’s strategy to turn Moscow into an international financial centre.
As new rules for the central clearing of OTC derivatives loom ever larger on the horizon in both Europe and the US, technology is helping to make the transition easier – but the kind of contracts being traded may well change, according to CME Group.
A study shows that 62% of City traders “admit to missing key investment or sell opportunities because they didn’t keep track of time zone differences”.
The public perception of banks has been battered in recent years, but financial institutions have been working hard to repair the damage. A key tool in their strategy has been to improve customer service in a multichannel environment.
Seven innovative start-up companies have been chosen to take part in a major new London-based project that aims to bolster advanced technologies in financial services. The seven firms will participate in a twelve-week programme in which they will gain support from the major banks and gather interest from venture capitalists and investors.
Citi has introduced a new kind of ATM designed to help customers do virtually all their banking without visiting a branch.
Flawed decisions taken by machines are causing financial services firms to lose customers and suffer unexpected costs, according to new report by the Economist Intelligence unit. Yet retail banks are increasingly turning to technology to assess customers.
A new social media tool designed for banks and built by British technology firm Integritie aims to break through the barriers that separate customers from their bank.
Conduct risk, which places emphasis on providers of credit to treat customers fairly, will challenge them to deliver higher standards of customer support across the whole relationship.
UK banks are still in “a difficult place” as they face economic uncertainty, increased cost and competitive pressures, complex regulations and rapid technological changes – but the changes that are happening in the payments industry offer scope for them to reclaim the initiative and deploy innovative solutions.
Dutch cooperative Rabobank has increased its outsourcing of banking software development and testing, via a five-year deal with technology specialist Cognizant that the cooperative hopes will provide it with the benefits of stronger technology.
Four out of five financial institutions are not ready for new regulations governing the trading, reporting and clearing of OTC derivatives, according to a new survey by US communications company IPC.
Peter Reitz, managing director of Eurex Repo and Eurex Bonds since 2006, has stepped down from the posts. He will continue to bear overall responsibility for the two subsidiaries on the Eurex Executive Board.
Online investment bank Saxo Bank has opened an office in Istanbul, Turkey, following its acquisition of local broker Değer Menkul Değerler in May last year.
Total bank IT spending across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific will grow to $179.2 billion in 2013, an increase of 3.4% over last year according to research and consulting firm Celent.
The newly created East Africa Exchange, which is currently taking its first steps in Rwanda, is part of a regional integration project between Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda that aims to boost liquidity and provide a commodities market for 130 million people across the region.
At the centre of the national crisis sits a banking industry tarnished in the public’s eyes by poor performance, excessive pay and the ongoing need for state support. Just where does the industry go from here and how does it start to rebuild trust?
Lloyds Banking Group is to cut 940 more jobs, the latest in a series of savage headcount culls at major financial institutions. Separate announcements earlier this week confirmed 200 human resources jobs would be axed, and a further 175 cuts made in the Halifax branch network.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has improved its connectivity to the outside world, through a deal with low-latency specialist Telstra Global at its new data centre at Tseung Kwan O.
Too many brokers are still using outdated methods such as email and telephone to confirm trade matches, undermining the advantages gleaned from high-performance trading technology, according to a new study by financial research firm Aite Group.
Chilean broker Banchile, part of Santiago- based Banco de Chile, has deployed a brokerage platform from UK systems supplier Fidessa that will link it to international trading venues.
The upcoming IPO of Russia’s Moscow Exchange on its own bourse is just one step in a titanic effort to transform Russia’s capital markets and attract attention from international investors – and it may not be the most important one, according to Serge Alexandre, electronic trading services at Russian broker Otkritie.
Former Liquidnet Europe head John Barker is to take up a new role at Russian financial services firm BCS Financial Group, Banking Technology has learned.
German central securities depository Clearstream has partnered with Belgian bank and insurance firm Belfius, to develop a new collateral service for bilateral trades, focusing on OTC derivatives and aimed at corporates and medium-sized banks.
The London Stock Exchange Group has entered a partnership with Peru’s Lima Stock Exchange, in which the LSEG will provide trading and smart order routing technology to Peru.
Proposals in Germany that would affect the country’s capital market structure could create problems of regulatory arbitrage when the European Commission’s MiFID II arrives in 2015-16, according to Mark Spanbroek, general secretary at the FIA European Principal Traders Association.
