BNP Paribas goes with Swift for T2S link
BNP Paribas Securities Services is to use Swift’s value added network service to connect to T2S, the single European settlement platform due to roll out in 2015-16.
European Union
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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.
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.
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
FSA Libor rules to take effect from 1 April
New rules and regulations for financial benchmarks following the Libor scandal will come into effect next Monday, says the Financial Services Authority, and will follow the recommendations of the Wheatley Review.
SEPA – Time to Make the Change
The shift to SEPA offers significant benefits to businesses – from lower bank fees on euro payments and direct debits to opportunities to streamline processes.
SEPA direct debit uptake “unacceptable” says ECB
The European Central Bank says that the speed of adopion of direct debits in line with the Single Euro Payments Area standards is “unacceptable” and urged regulators and payment service providers to make greater efforts to push the instrument or risk damaging the reputation of the scheme.
TSAM delegates slam OTC derivatives regulation
As Europe’s new EMIR derivatives regulation takes hold, senior buy-side representatives have warned that new rules including EMIR and Basel III might actually exacerbate risks rather than reduce them.
Banks and startups celebrate collaboration at London investor day
Major global banks have praised the FinTech Innovation Lab London, a project which partners senior bank executives with startup companies, for helping to energise the development of innovative new products in financial services, at an investor day presentation in London City Hall this morning.
Polish bank ramps up mobile payment capability with HP/Accumulate technology
PKO Bank Polski has added a mobile payment service that covers all payment situations using the Mobile Everywhere platform from Stockholm-based Accumulate.
RBS offers to automate SEPA migration for corporates
The Royal Bank of Scotland has announced a new product intended to help clients migrate to mandatory SEPA standards. Called the RBS SEPA Accelerator, the product has a feature that allows a corporate implementing the SEPA XML file format to independently initiate, monitor and amend file testing, validation and end-to-end simulation. This ensures that a corporate can self-test its SEPA readiness.
Sentenial completes Benelux expansion with Netherlands office
SEPA solutions specialist Sentenial has completed its planned investment in the Benelux Region with the opening of a fully-supported operational office in Amsterdam and the relocation and expansion of its Brussels office.
Cameron’s EU speech: a battle of wills
UK Prime Minister David Cameron gave a speech earlier this week in which he promised to hold a referendum on UK membership of the EU by 2018, if he is re-elected. The speech reflects pressures not just in the Conservative party, but fundamental differences in Europe as a whole over how to approach financial markets and the wider economy.
EU businesses “unprepared” for SEPA, warns survey
Europe’s businesses are unprepared for the arrival of the Single Euro Payments Area in February 2014, with many completely unaware of its consequences, according to new research by IT business services provider Steria.
