World Class Payments take shape in the UK
advances in technology, and particularly consumer demand, are driving change and making the payments environment an interesting place to be in the years ahead
RegTech
PSR papers set out scope for Payments Strategy Forum
The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator has published a series of papers describing its work on the creation of the Payments Strategy Forum, the body it is creating under independent leadership to bring together regulators, industry and users.
Harmonisation of ISO 20022 is crucial – but who should be in charge?
It seems not a day goes by without seeing those three little letters and five numbers – ISO 20022 – appearing in headlines or articles. But hang on a minute, what’s all the commotion about? It’s just another message format that I need to make sure my systems can handle, right?
AIFMD implementation sucessful, but doubts remain on regulatory data
The funds industry has successfully implemented the requirements of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive over the past year but has doubts about the use of data being gathered by regulators and question whether it is helping regulators to better spot threats and systemic risks that may impact market stability.
Banks gain ground after customers’ confidence hits rock bottom
The global financial crisis devastated the reputation of the UK banking industry and it is not hard to understand why public trust in banks is at a low ebb. Since 2008, there have been at least five major scandals involving one or more banks operating in the UK, writes Peter Duffy Along with the reputational damage […]
Banking Technology Forum 2015 morning sessions: payments regulation, blockchain real-time payments and digital banking
There is a nuclear revolution going on in banking and payments with new digital challenger banks like Atom and Starling seeking to displace established banks that are themselves turning to real-time payment infrastructures to retain customers and under regulatory pressure to open up to FinTech competition from mobile players and payment service providers (PSPs). Crypto-currencies, cyber-security and other tech challenges were also addressed at the Banking Technology Forum 2015
The looming possibility of Brexit underscores the need for data clarity
Tactical regulatory firefighting has distracted banks from their long-term strategic shift to an enterprise view of data. Looming issues such as the possible Brexit highlight the urgency of this task
Funds Transfer Pricing: confronting a mosaic of risk
The need for financial institutions to accurately gauge their exposure to myriad sources of risk has seldom, if ever, been greater. The credit crisis toward the end of the last decade must have made that clear, and if bankers managed to avoid getting the message back then, the point has been driven home ever since by regulators around the world
ISDA rallies support for derivatives data reporting rethink
Eleven financial associations have published their support for a new set of derivatives reporting standards developed by ISDA, which is calling for greater cross-border harmonisation of data standards – even if that means some national laws will have to be amended.
Swift offers ISO 20022 implementation best practice guidelines
Swift has published a best practice guideline for implementation of ISO 20022 for financial institutions, based on experience gleaned through its involvement in more than 150 consulting projects for more than 70 clients across the globe.
Tabb: capital markets compliance spend will soar to $2.6 billion this year
TABB Group forecasts global compliance spending among capital markets firms will some increase 7.5% to 8% in 2015, reaching $2.592 billion , and growing at a similar pace for 2016, driven by global regulations that require institutions to expand coverage, enhance existing capabilities and standardise compliance solutions and processes.
Derivatives exchanges slam regulators over open clearing
Regulators should not define how markets are structured when it comes to innovation and open access to clearing. Instead, it should be left up to the market to define how services are provided, according to speakers at the IDX FIA Europe conference in Europe this week.
MiFID II open access to CCPs called into question
As the European Commission’s MiFID II legislation moved towards implementation of technical standards, some of Europe’s national regulators are seriously worried that mandatory open access to CCPs may not be such a good idea. Concerns about the ability to manage risk and the ability to effectively handle data were highlighted by speakers at the IDX FIA conference in London yesterday.
McKenna to head standards at Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation
Karla McKenna has been named head of standards at the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation on a year’s secondment from Citi, where she is director of market practice and standards.
CFTC praises global regulatory harmonisation – just don’t expect uniformity
Global regulators are struggling to find the balance between recognising each other’s existence and learning to harmonise and coordinate their activities, and protecting domestic national economic stability. But people who can’t accept that there will be some differences in regulation between Asia, Europe and the US are not realistic, according to Timothy Massad, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
EMIR ‘significantly at risk’ of failure warns FIA Europe
Industry association FIA Europe is calling on regulators to make changes to derivatives laws, including amendments to Basel III and MiFIR, as well as EMIR reporting obligations. The association argues that without the changes it is advocating, the viability of some of the new rules will be at risk.
Permanent TSB and Italian bank adopt Wolters Kluwer reporting tools
Irish bank Permanent TSB has chosen a regulatory reporting platform from Wolters Kluwer as part of its measures to cope with Basel III. Belgian bank Banca Monte Paschi Belgio, the Belgian branch of Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, has also chosen the same OneSumX regulatory reporting solution.
EU Payment Services Directive 2: counting the costs and benefits
EU lawmakers reached a political consensus last week on a proposal for a new EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2). This follows several months of negotiations between European Parliament, the Commission and the Council of Ministers and marks a significant step in regulatory development within the payments market
Swift extends KYC compliance services to securities users
Swift is extending its Know Your Customer compliance service into the securities area, making it available to fund distributors and custodians.
Nasdaq unit says risk and data capabilities give FS firms a way to rebuild client trust
Financial services firms should get a grip on their risk management and make more use of the data available to them as part of a two-way process in gaining user trust and building new revenue streams.
Compliance and digital innovation needn’t be mutually exclusive
Regulatory compliance might be a fact of life for every financial institution, but it can be very challenging when competitive pressures come in to play. Software-based services are often now the primary means of contact between a company and its customers; IT is no longer a back-office support function
FCA sets out terms for probe into corporate and investment banking
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s study into competition in investment and corporate banking will focus on choice, transparency, bundling and cross-subsidisation in debt and equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and acquisition financing. It will also consider links between competition in these primary market services and related activities such as corporate lending and broking, and ancillary services.
The Irresistible Rise of Real-Time Payments
Whatever label you use, instant, immediate, faster or real-time payments have moved to the top of the agenda at every payments-related event so far this year and are sure to be high on the agenda when Swift’s annual Sibos event lands in Singapore in October. Nearing the halfway mark for 2015, here’s a roundup of the stories so far …
ISDA releases UTI derivatives trade reporting service
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has launched UTIPrefix.org, a service that enables counterparties to obtain a unique trade identifier (UTI) prefix for derivatives trade reporting.
Cyber security tops DTCC risk barometer
US post-trade utility the DTCC is reporting that almost half of the respondents in its most recent Systemic Risk Barometer Study cited cyber security as their top concern, making it the single largest fear and doubling its rating compared to just 12 months ago.
Industry bodies look to harmonise ISO 20022 real-time payment implementation
Global interoperability of real-time payments systems will require harmonisation of market practices and standards. A group of international clearing houses, banks, vendors, payments associations and other parties have proposed setting up an activity to look at how to deliver this under the aegis of the International Standards Organisation – and set an ambitious target of collating an initial variant of ISO 20022 usage guidelines for real-time payments before the summer.
Data integrity and post-crisis regulatory reform
The integrity of data in capital markets – be it, for example, price data, trade facts, collateral balances, or other key business information – has long been a fundamental concern of technologists and business stakeholders. But how do we define integrity?
Banks face “mad rush” to prepare for MiFIR
Financial institutions will need to maintain records, report transactions and supply reference data under the European Commission’s forthcoming MiFIR regulation. But those who expect plenty of time for implementation and no regulatory conflicts are likely to be disappointed, according to a new report by analyst firm Aite.
Delegates voice frustration at slow progress on Open API rules during Swift event
Open APIs offer the promise of a better, more efficient and more inclusive financial services world. But delegates at the Swift Business Forum in London voiced frustration about the speed and direction of progress being made during a session on the topic.
OMG addresses data sovereignty issues in the cloud
The Object Management Group has formed a new working group to study issues of documenting and controlling data across distributed cloud environments, a big inhibitor of cloud for those with strict data sovereignty requirements such as banks and financial services firms.
Swift Business Forum panel slams EU trade reporting rules
New trade reporting requirements that would require banks and other capital markets participants to demonstrate best execution through data will impose massive costs and will not provide an equal level of benefit, according to senior executives speaking at the Swift Business Forum in London this week.
Europe’s CSDs are facing a regulatory squeeze warns Nasdaq
European banks and CSDs will be forced to change their business models under relentless pressure from Basel III, CSDR and T2S. That may involve consolidating services, as well as considering opportunities for collaboration, according to Henri Bergström, head of global post trade solutions at Nasdaq.
Volante lays Foundation for faster payment systems integration
Financial messaging and data integration specialist Volante Technologies has taken a step into the world of packaged products with the launch of VolPay Foundation, a development platform “designed to ease the challenges of payment integration and payment processing projects”.
EC calls time on the broker crossing network – so what happens now?
Broker crossing networks will be heavily affected by upcoming European Commission rules on dark trading. But with 18 months to go until implementation, uncertainty still unnerves brokers and asset managers – prompting some market participants to re-examine whether they want to trade at all.
CounterpartyLink adds hierarchy profiles to legal identity service
CounterpartyLink, a provider of legal entity intelligence for buy- and sell-side institutions and law enforcement agencies, has announced CPL Hierarchy Profile, a new product designed to provide a single view of the client across complex client groups.
MiFID II will prevent traders doing their job, TradeTech delegates told
The European Commission’s MiFID II legislation is a poorly thought-out, arbitrary and unclear piece of rulemaking that will prevent traders from being able to do their job. Worse still, a lack of clarity over the final details will inflict uncertainty and cost on market participants from now until 2017, according to delegates at TradeTech Paris this week.
Beware of cyber-complacency warns ex-MI5 director
A former head of the UK Security Service better known as MI5 says banks need to beware the danger of state agencies and others stealing or destroying confidential information.
Boat to launch APA reporting service for MiFID II transparency
Boat Services, the OTC trade reporting service provider owned by technology vendor Cinnober, plans to introduce a MiFID II compliance solution, offering publication services for all instrument classes. It will apply for authorisation by the FCA in the UK when Approved Publication Arrangement registration is available in 2016.
The treasurer: creating price tension on the derivatives front
A banking book requires a number of careful deliberations on the use of derivatives. In particular, the introduction of EMIR, Dodd-Frank and their brethren across the world has a number of important consequences for this market.
New payment systems regulator will open up payments systems to non-traditional players
Last week saw the launch of the Payment Systems Regulator, the first time the UK gets a regulatory body overseeing the £75 trillion a year payments systems. Its brief is clear: to open up the UK payments infrastructure, which is currently controlled by the high street banks, make it more accessible to challenger banks and fairer for consumers. The regulator has been given strong powers by the government and has already made it clear it will fine the banks if they do not step up to the mark.
