Predicting the future is never easy, but trying to anticipate likely developments in a particular area is essential in order to take timely action. With that caveat, Stephen Lindsay, head of standards at SWIFT, sets a boundary on a discussion on the Future of Standards: “What we are trying to do is extrapolate a little bit from where we are now to where we might be in a few years’ time,” he says.
At a passionate debate in Westminster this week MPs, led by Rushanara Ali, member for Bethnal Green & Bow, called for government action in the wake of Barclay’s recent decision to close accounts for a large number of small payments businesses in the remittances sector.
With lots of different regulatory benchmark efforts now underway, the industry could be forgiven for not taking a common stance. With IOSCO issuing final principles, ESMA and the EBA are simultaneously consulting on a European set of principles. Meanwhile the UK is moving ahead with its own reforms.
Delays to the controversial US FATCA rule have provided a valuable window of opportunity for financial institutions to prepare.
European securities regulator ESMA has started the latest round of consultation on OTC derivatives clearing with the release of a discussion paper on regulatory technical standards for the European Market Infrastructure regulation, the new pan-European rulebook.
Uncertainty over the mechanism for calculating the Libor benchmark in future remains in the wake of the generally applauded appointment of NYSE Euronext as its new administrator.
India’s HDFC Bank has chosen to install risk management tools provided by Numerix, in a move the bank says will help consolidate its risk management and reporting capabilities.
After a long wait, the first real FATCA implementation deadlines are just around the corner. To meet the new account identification requirements, by 1 January 2014, institutions should be in the process of implementing the necessary upgrades in their onboarding and overall compliance systems and processes.
The possibility of jail for miscreant top bankers has hit the headlines following publication of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards final report, a compendium of all that is considered wrong with both banks and the regulator …
According to a new white paper from Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, one of the key issues faced by data architects tasked with creating a unified data management infrastructure is the fact that operations in different countries often have different internal systems.
The impact of the internet on the banking industry may yet turn out to be far more important than the financial crisis and the subsequent regulatory overhaul. Viewing statements on-line and making payments electronically is just the very beginning of the revolution.
GBST‘s Capital Markets and Six Financial Information have teamed up to enhance GBST´s solution for the Financial Transaction Tax that some European countries are introducing.
The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive threatens to have a significant operational impact on the industry. Fund managers will soon be subject to a host of new requirements including increased KYC and due diligence, better risk and liquidity monitoring, and new reporting and disclosure requirements. However, in the UK the transition looks to be particularly […]
Reaction to the publication of the Report of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards earlier this week focussed largely on the restrictions that senior management in banks, but it also made recommendations about the systems banks use, and the need to upgrade them.
ISO 20022 has been hailed as the lingua franca in payments and securities for some years now. It offers great potential for re-engineering the payments industry, and for process improvement, but for a standard that promises so much it is still relatively unknown.
the US Securities and Exchange Commission says that its cloud-based approach is paying dividends and allowing it to examine the structures of the markets it supervises at a greater level of granularity than ever before.
Financial services observers have expressed support for the UK Payments Council’s new roadmap – but serious concerns remain about the viability of the proposals, which are backed by the UK government as part of a drive to improve services for consumers.
Brokers will need to spend more on risk management over the remainder of 2013 if they are to survive incoming financial regulation and new technologies will be required to make that possible, according to new research by Tabb Group.
Changing EU rules suggest firms will face 2015 implementation confusion without co-ordination on Recovery and Resolution Procedure standards
The UK Payments Council has published a ‘payments roadmap’, which sets out the steps that could help to build up a shared payments infrastructure in the UK.
The deadline for firms to upgrade their risk data aggregation capabilities is fast approaching. Without a consolidated viewpoint on what new risk data requirements mean, they will be at a loss when it comes to determining best practice …
Malaysia’s AmBank has installed a risk management tool from Murex, which it says will help the bank to meet regulatory and reporting requirements as well as improve its internal oversight.
Regulators are busy raising the bar for KYC systems and controls. With conflicting purposes and customer data objectives, new guidance and industry solutions are needed in 2014
The post-trade infrastructures behind the world’s securities markets face as much, if not more, regulatory driven change as the trading firms in the face of legislation such as the European Union’s European Market Infrastructure Regulation. While some of the effects will be negative, the regulators are showing a constructive approach and recognising that the infrastructure providers came out of the crisis well, says Thomas Zeeb, chief executive of Six Securities Services.
As new rules governing the central reporting of OTC derivatives take effect across the G20 nations, TriOptima, a subsidiary of broker ICAP, has said it will verify and reconcile OTC derivatives data from US post-trade utility the DTCC’s trade repository – making it the first provider to do so.
Recent months have seen rising tensions over the seemingly insurmountable demands for collateral prompted by tough new financial regulation. With US Treasury estimates ranging as high as to $11.2 trillion in stressed market conditions, some observers are deeply concerned that the industry could be in danger of sliding into a black hole
As the first deadline for implementation of the Single Euro Payments Area approaches in February 2014, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is pretty much all over – or at least will be by October 2016, when the second deadline arrives. Don’t count on it, cautions Ruth Wandhöfer, global head, regulatory & market strategy, Citi Transaction Services.
The Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed former FSA supervisor Jon Pain as head of its conduct and regulatory affairs division, reporting directly to chief executive Stephen Hester.
ICE Clear Europe is to begin clearing for NYSE Liffe’s London derivatives market on 1 July, marking the end of NYSE’s migration from LCH Clearnet, and the beginning of ICE’s integration with NYSE Euronext, which it purchased in December for $8.2 billion.
Further uncertainty in the Eurozone has been prompted by unconfirmed reports that the European Commission is considering watering down the 11-nation proposals for a financial transaction tax – but any revisions may have to wait until September, following elections in Germany, according to sources close to the subject.
Europe’s post-trade infrastructure is undergoing significant change, driven by the implementation of the single settlement platform Target2-Securities and the forthcoming CSD Regulation. As a result, market participants need to review their current back office system capabilities.
Financial technology company SunGard has released a new tool designed to help banks and other financial institutions to streamline their compliance with regulation, reduce their costs and control risk.
US post-trade services company the DTCC and Belgian settlement specialist Euroclear are planning to create a joint service that aims to provide better, safer collateral management for market participants.
The funds industry is going through a time of great change, with a combination of regulation, cost pressure, consolidation and globalisation forcing many participants to take a close look at their business and operating models and consider what their future role in the ecosystem should be. For some, this means outsourcing activities, creating opportunities for […]
With the newly formed LEI Foundation moving forward with establishing processes for issuing and managing the Legal Entity Identifier through its Regulatory Oversight Committee and the registration of seven pre-Local Operating Units, it is worth taking a step back to understand exactly why the industry is pushing forward with the LEI and what it could achieve.
The European Commission has published proposals designed to make it easier for European consumers to understand and compare the bank services they receive and switch bank accounts if they are not happy with their existing provider.
The cost to fully upgrade the financial industry’s infrastructure to make efficient use of collateral will reach $53 billion, according to new research by Celent – but too much standardisation could do more harm than good, warns SIX Securities Services.
A legal framework for the standardised clearing of OTC derivatives has been established in Germany with the approval of standardised documentation by the German Banking Industry Committee, the Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft. The DK has published the framework agreement, called the CRV – Clearing-Rahmenvereinbarung – for use by German banks and their buy-side customers with immediate effect. The document […]
It’s not proving easy, but progress is being made on the road to the development of a global Legal Entity Identifier that works and makes business sense.
The UK financial services sector has asked new regulator the Financial Conduct Authority to do more to support competition, improve its communication with the industry and provide clearer and more predictable regulation, according to a the results of a survey published by the FCA today.
