Treasury & Capital Markets/TCM


OTC derivatives reforms must be global, says DTCC

As new rules for the reporting of OTC derivatives draw closer around the globe, US post-trade services utility the DTCC is positioning itself as the provider of a global network of trade repositories – but OTC derivatives reform will only work if consistent measures are taken everywhere, says Stewart Macbeth, president and chief executive at the DTCC.

Securities lending: illuminating data?

Regulatory data collection tools have been refined, standardised identifiers nearly constructed and more frequent and granular reporting rolled into regulation. Now that regulators have this mass of data, what is the next step in linking it and putting it to use?

Activ expands Canadian coverage ahead of “naked access” ban

Market data and technology company Activ Financial has expanded its risk gateway tool to cover all Canadian exchanges, ahead of new rules that will require market participants in Canada to have pre-trade risk controls in place across all asset classes from next month.

Eurex inks deal with Taiwan Futures Exchange

The Taiwan Futures Exchange is to list futures and options on German derivatives exchange Eurex, following an agreement between the two bourses to make it easier for international investors to access each other’s markets round the clock.

Low frequency trading

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”.

Banish Missed Trade Misery …

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”.

Information Mosaic sets out tools for T2S

Software company Information Mosaic has released an improved version of its corporate actions tool, IMActions, which it says will help banks and CSDs prepare for T2S.

Rise of the machines: banks embrace automation despite the cost

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.

Industry “not ready” for OTC derivatives reform

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.

Chilean broker imports UK trading technology

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.

Clearstream allies with Belgium’s Belfius

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.

Nasdaq OMX expands and regroups technology business

Nasdaq OMX is to combine its market technology and corporate solutions businesses, in a move that it says will help the firm provide more transparency to customers and a stronger business proposition.

Headcount cull claims investment bankers

As job cuts continue to bite at some of the world’s largest banks and financial institutions, new figures from Bloomberg Industries reveal the scale of the cull driven by lacklustre macroeconomic performance in Europe, a declining stock market and tightening financial regulation.

International clearers form ‘Liquidity Alliance’

An alliance between central securities depositories in Germany, Spain, Brazil, South Africa and Australia aims to tackle the expected global shortfall in collateral arising from tough new financial regulation.

Banks boost ICAP’s Traiana with $36 million investment

Interdealer broker ICAP has raised $36 million through the sale of a 12% stake in its Traiana post-trade processing and risk management business to a consortium of banks – Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citi, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Nomura, and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

March deadline for code to tackle fixing of interbank lending rates

European regulators have until March to impose a code of conduct on banks contributing to the creation of the Euribor interbank lending rate benchmark. The deadline is included in recommendations published by the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority following their joint work on benchmark rate-setting processes in the wake of the Barclays Libor scandal and other rate-fixing revelations.

BATS trading errors highlight perils of technology arms race

US exchange operator BATS Global Markets’ revelation earlier this week that it may have accidentally breached best execution regulation on thousands of client transactions over a four-year period has been criticised by senior buy-side traders, who have expressed disappointment at the failure of exchanges to serve long-term investors.

Citi targets “dangerous” global collateral shortfall

Citi has established a set of alliances with Clearstream and Euroclear Bank that it says will transform the way broker-dealers manage their collateral, freeing up precious resources as onerous new regulations in the US and Europe burden banks with tougher collateral requirements.

JP Morgan trade platform promises joined-up thinking

JP Morgan has begun rollout of its new multi-asset class trading platform, JP Morgan Markets, which the firm says will make it easier for clients to bring together different elements such as research and analytics and convert them into successful trades.

“Fragile” US equity market structure needs attention

The recent market data glitch on US consolidated tape C, in which investors were unable to view Nasdaq-listed stocks, highlights the need for regulation on resilience, according to Frederic Ponzo, managing partner at capital markets consultancy GreySpark Partners.

“Lobby wars” will hurt buy-side interests in Brussels says SunGard exec

As the European Commission prepares new rules that will reform Europe’s capital markets, buy-side market participants must be careful to ensure that they are not misunderstood and even side-lined by politicians in Brussels, warns David Morgan, director for trading and client connectivity, capital markets at financial technology provider SunGard.

Unbundling tops banking reform recommendations

Global investment banks need to stop focusing on easy opportunities and start innovating, according to a new report by US business consultancy AlixPartners – even if that means unbundling services and embracing smaller financial institutions as allies.

Man Group goes live with Swift’s global ETC messaging service

Alternative investment management firm Man Group has gone live with Swift’s Global Electronic Trade Confirmation messaging service, and successfully confirmed its first trades with Morgan Stanley using the Cor Financial Salerio post-trade management service.

Brokers face grim prospects for 2013

Brokers are being forced to consider novel approaches to doing business – including outsourcing of areas that have been previously seen as core – as they struggle to work out viable economic models for their products and services.

SIX expands Nordic post-trade with £20m purchase of Oslo Clearing

Swiss market operator SIX is to expand its post-trade infrastructure in Scandinavia with the acquisition of Oslo Clearing, a subsidiary of the Oslo Børs, for NOK180 million (£19.8 million).

The unit is authorised to act as a central counterparty in Norway and currently clears derivatives and securities lending products. It will become will be part of SIX Securities Services.

ECB tweaks T2S migration schedule

Despite delays and arguments over migration, the European Central Bank’s T2S project to improve Europe’s post-trade infrastructure is now back on track, according to senior industry participants.

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