New Turkish exchange embraces Nasdaq OMX technology
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.
Europe
NYSE Euronext opens SME market in Netherlands
NYSE Euronext has launched EnterNext, a market for small- and medium-sized companies, in the Netherlands for the first time – a move the exchange says will help local SMEs to get the financing they need.
Deutsche Börse launches first public vendor-neutral cloud marketplace
German exchange group Deutsche Börse has announced what it claims to be the world’s first vendor-neutral marketplace for cloud services.
Licuos named Spain’s best startup at Next Bank Madrid
Spanish business to business payment platform Licuos has been named as the winner of Innotribe Startup Disrupt, a competition to find the most innovative financial services startups in the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world.
A pro-fund change? Good news for AIFs
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 […]
Spain’s Banco Sabadell offers mobile cash withdrawal
Spanish bank Sabadell has released a mobile app that lets consumers withdraw cash without a debit card.
Next Bank Madrid reveals Spain’s strongest startups
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.
Shared UK payments infrastructure faces uphill struggle
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.
MTS unveils European swaps trading platform
Fixed income trading venue MTS is to launch a new platform called MTS Swaps designed for buy-side firms that want to have more control over how they trade interest rate swaps.
The future of payments: beware of the dud?
The financial services sector needs to be wary of payments solutions that may be solving phantom problems that are of little relevance to the consumer, according to speakers at the Experian payments conference in London on Tuesday.
“Disruptive” Spanish and Portuguese start-ups to showcase talent in Madrid
A new joint project between Spanish financial services project Next Bank Madrid and Swift’s Innotribe innovation wing aims to unleash the potential of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American start-up companies in financial services.
BlackRock and Euroclear Bank set out to grow European ETF market
Asset management firm BlackRock and Euroclear Bank aim to unlock the potential of the European exchange-traded fund market by making settlement for ETFs cheaper and more efficient.
SEPA: the long and winding road
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.
NYSE Liffe puts London derivatives ambitions on ICE
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.
Sinking the financial transaction tax
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.
UK mobile banking “at tipping point” says VocaLink
One in four customers in the UK is now using mobile banking services– and bank-driven systems are leading the way, according to new research by mobile payments specialist VocaLink.
Taking the pain out of paying in Spain
Spanish banks La Caixa and Santander have partnered with telecoms firm Telefónica to create a joint venture offering mobile payment services and a digital wallet designed to relegate conventional payment methods to the history books.
SBP selects Avaloq Banking System for French operations
SwissLife Banque Privée is to implement the Avaloq Banking System at its French operation, which was established last year.
Interbolsa Portugal opts for Swift T2S connection
Portugal’s central securities depository Interbolsa is to use Swift’s value added network to connect to T2S, the single European settlement platform due to roll out in 2015-16.
Putting the back office in the spotlight: the widespread impact of T2S
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.
Turkland Bank adopts Infosys core banking tools
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.
Oschadbank Ukraine adopts online and mobile banking tools
Ukraine’s Oschadbank has installed a remote banking service that it says will help it to create a single ‘payment ecosystem’ that covers cards, security, payments and transfers.
DTCC and Euroclear target collateral shortfall
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.
Can branches survive in a cashless future?
Two different visions of the future of retail financial services did battle at the Building Societies Association annual conference in Harrogate this week , revealing a dilemma facing UK building societies.
EU sets out retail bank switching and transparency proposals
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.
German banks set standard framework for clearing OTC derivatives
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 […]
FCA to focus on competition and communication
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.
Otkritie to roll out Calypso in London and Moscow
Russian broker Otkritie has gone live with the first phase of a new project to bolster its London and Moscow front and back office operations, including collateral management, replacing in-house systems with Calypso platforms.
Polish market links increase with TMX Atrium connection
Poland’s Warsaw Stock Exchange has been added to TMX Atrium’s trading infrastructure, one week after the exchange switched to its new UTP trading system built by NYSE Technologies.
TradeTech panellists see politics riding roughshod over regulation
Discontent with regulation cast a cloud over delegates on the first day of the TradeTech conference in London, as senior industry executives pondered on the politicisation of the debate and the perceived failure of regulators to deliver efficient markets.
UK regulators concerned that EU legislators will close off “legitimate” trading activities
Regulators in the UK are concerned that some European governments will force through regulations that will close off legitimate market practices such as algorithmic trading because they do not fully understand the markets, said a panellist at the TradeTech event in London. Tim Rowe, head of the trading platforms and settlement team at the UK’s […]
Otkritie and SunGard release Russian algo trading tools
Russian broker Otkritie has chosen financial technology company SunGard to help launch a new direct market access service that should make it easier for investors to access Russia’s capital markets.
Regulate to innovate?
Bankers can seem a little bit schizophrenic when it comes to regulation – much of the time they complain about the sheer weight of the regulatory burden they face, but at other times they talk of regulation as an opportunity. It could well be that as they have finally realised regulation – and plenty of it – is inevitable, some banks have decided to make a virtue out of it.
Spain: the next generation of payment technology?
The world is embracing digital technology in every area of economic and social activity, including those that appeared impossible to convert to a digital format completely, such as payments.
AMLD IV: Prove you’re doing it right
Anti-Money Laundering systems and controls continue to make news in the wake of the high profile failures of 2012. On 5 February, the proposal for the updated EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive was finally released. The proposal imposes a number of new requirements significantly increasing the scope and volume of firms’ KYC processes likely to be required by 2014.
NCR, MasterCard, ING Bank Slaski pilot contactless ATMs in Poland
Technology company NCR has introduced contactless ATMs in Poland that allow customers to withdraw cash without inserting a card, through a joint project with MasterCard and ING Bank Slaski.
ING Bank names new CIO
Dutch bank ING has appointed Ron van Kemenade as its new CIO. Van Kemenade has 20 years of experience in the financial services and online sectors. Previously CIO of ING in the Netherlands, the promotion will see him CIO for the entire ING Bank. Van Kemenade joined ING in 2003 as Internet manager at Postbank […]
Regulating the -IBORs: a global view of benchmarks?
Benchmark manipulation and fallout from it is not new news, but the global drive to regulate benchmarks is. Europe has made the first move to controlling benchmark manipulation but global co-ordination is needed to create an approach that works for everyone.
Finland’s Alandsbanken adopts SunGard risk management tools
Nordic bank Alandsbanken has chosen risk management tools from SunGard, which it says will help the bank to comply with new financial regulations. SunGard’s Ambit Risk and Ambit Performance products will be used by the bank to manage interest rate and liquidity risk and help the bank keep track of its balance sheet.
Equens offers SEPA support to Dutch businesses
European payment processor Equens plans to offer a number of services to the Dutch business community to support them in the migration to Single Euro Payments Area formats
