As the world’s banks continue to struggle with severe regulatory change, economic turbulence and technological evolution, a new report by analyst firm Tabb Group says that financial institutions will have to provide immediate, friction-free access to content, community and execution, or face extinction.
An international derivatives market called Global Markets Exchange Group International has been launched by co-founders Hirander Misra and Vj Angelo, in a bid to target new business opportunities created by changing financial regulation.
As the Moscow Exchange launches a new liquidity incentive promotion, Sergey Sinkevich, head of DMA at Russian broker Otkritie, argues that Russia’s move to adopt T+2 settlement is the most important development in the last 20 years for the country’s capital markets.
Bloomberg has received approval to launch a Swap Execution Facility, ahead of the compliance deadline for new US Dodd-Frank rules for clearing of OTC derivatives.
Is there anything to fear about the new FCA? Well, possibly quite a lot, it would seem. A hundred or so days into the new era of the FCA and it would be hard for anyone in the wealth management or private banking sector to have missed the message that the regulation of the sector is going to be different from now on.
Ukraine’s UniCredit ‘Ukrsotsbank’ has chosen US technology firm Fiserv to provide its Integrated Currency Manager tool, which the bank will use to improve its supply chain management and make better use of its available resources.
Argentina’s Caja de Valores central securities depository has chosen the London Stock Exchange to be its technology provider, as the depository gears up to support the country’s new Bolsa & Mercados Argentinos exchange.
For firms who remember MiFID I, and those that don’t, round two is almost upon us. This month, the Council of the EU agreed their general approach, meaning that the draft of MiFID II/MiFIR is free to advance to the European Parliament. If all goes according to the current plan, the new combined legislation will be with us in time for 2015 implementation.
Financial technology company SIA has acquired Italian telecoms firm Emmecom, as part of a plan to create a new technology infrastructure across Europe for merchants and banks.
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.
On 23 April 2013, the markets suffered a brief, sharp drop as algorithms reacted to “news” from the Associated Press’s Twitter handle that President Obama had been injured in a bombing attack at the White House. In a few minutes, the Dow Jones dropped 145 points, Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost $136 billion in […]
Moroccan investment bank Casablanca Finance Group has installed a new banking system from Swiss technology company Avaloq, as the Moroccan financial services industry spreads its wings across Africa.
The Bahrain Bourse is to replace its trading platform with a new one provided by Nasdaq OMX, as the Bourse aims to become a trading hub in the Persian Gulf region.
Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Bank has chosen technology company Calypso Technology to help revamp its treasury operations and improve its back office.
Turkey’s newly-merged Borsa Istanbul has formed a deal with Nasdaq OMX, under which the new Turkish market will take up Nasdaq trading, clearing, market surveillance and risk technology.
The Iraq Stock Exchange is to upgrade its trading technology using Nasdaq OMX, in a project that highlights the progress made by the country’s stock market since the American-led invasion in 2003.
BNP Paribas Securities Services has added Collateral Access, an integrated and comprehensive collateral management system for both buy-side and sell-side clients.
Broadridge Financial Solutions is to acquire Bonaire Software Solutions, a provider of asset management fee calculation, billing, and revenue and expense management solutions.
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.
Direct market access provider Object Trading has connected its clients to Nasdaq OMX NLX, the newly launched London derivatives market, and they have begun live trading.
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 […]
Union Bank of Taiwan has signed up with global fund transaction network Calastone to automate its offshore fund transactions through the new Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corporation fund service.
New York start-up Simplified Financial Information is piloting a market data analytics system prior to release later this summer.
Next Bank Madrid has chosen the finalists for a competition that seeks to find the best financial services startup companies from the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world.
The securities markets are changing rapidly in the face of regulation and technology shifts, and none more so than the fixed income markets.
India’s IndusInd Bank and Western Union have created a partnership designed to make foreign exchange and global business easier for SMEs in India.
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 Brazil gears up to host the World Cup next year and the Olympics in 2016, a clutch of government reforms hold high promise for the country’s financial infrastructure, according to Aldo Mendes, deputy governor, monetary policy at Brazil’s Central Bank.
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
In early 2009, soon after the global subprime fallout, the official Vatican newsletter published a rather contextual referral for Islamic banking, observing that the ‘ethical principles on which Islamic finance is based may bring banks closer to their clients and to the true spirit which should mark every financial service‘, writes Riaz Akhtar, senior consultant, […]
Millennium Information Technologies, the IT subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange has appointed John Mackay “Mack” Gill, as its new chief executive office, taking over from company founder Tony Weeresinghe, who will become non-executive chairman with a global business development role.
Saxo Bank, the multi-asset online trading and investment specialist, has launched Saxo TV, fronted by former Bloomberg TV News anchor Owen Thomas, to provide on-demand business and financial analysis.
Turkish bank Turkland has installed new core banking, CRM and treasury systems from Infosys – the first time a Turkish bank has implemented an externally developed core banking system according to the firm.
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 […]
MTS, the European electronic fixed income marketplace majority owned by the London Stock Exchange, plans to open a platform for US institutional investors, allowing them direct access for the first time.
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.
Brazilian exchange BM&F Bovespa has joined the BT Radianz Cloud, a financial community that connects 500 member locations in Latin America with BT’s global network.
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 […]
