Regional differences colour IT spending priorities
Total bank IT spending across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific will grow to $179.2 billion in 2013, an increase of 3.4% over last year according to research and consulting firm Celent.
BankingTech
Unlocking the potential of Big Data
At the centre of the national crisis sits a banking industry tarnished in the public’s eyes by poor performance, excessive pay and the ongoing need for state support. Just where does the industry go from here and how does it start to rebuild trust?
Lloyds slashes another 940 jobs as cuts deepen
Lloyds Banking Group is to cut 940 more jobs, the latest in a series of savage headcount culls at major financial institutions. Separate announcements earlier this week confirmed 200 human resources jobs would be axed, and a further 175 cuts made in the Halifax branch network.
Broker back-ends still outpaced by trading technology
Too many brokers are still using outdated methods such as email and telephone to confirm trade matches, undermining the advantages gleaned from high-performance trading technology, according to a new study by financial research firm Aite Group.
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.
Acleda Bank fuels Cambodian expansion with Temenos tools
Cambodia’s Acleda Bank has embarked on a massive programme of expansion in a bid to reach unbanked customers in the country, drawing on core banking technology provided by Swiss banking software company Temenos.
Swift’s Innotribe Challenge 2013 opens for entries
Swift has opened its Innotribe Startup Challenge 2013 for entries. The year-round competition is intended to introduce financial industry decision makers and early-stage investors to the “innovations and emerging companies that are poised to transform the industry”.
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.
Trendy techs top CIO priority lists for 2013 says Gartner study
Faced with flatlining IT budgets, global CIOs must better exploit the business potential of technology to achieve results – currently they realise only 43% of that potential says Gartner. Top of the priority list is what the research firm calls ‘digital technologies’. In this it includes mobile, analytics, Big Data, social media networking and cloud, […]
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.
The irresistible rise of digital banking
The banking industry, integral to our commercial and personal lives, has always evolved with the times to embrace new challenges and consumer attitudes. Technology plays an obvious and increasingly important role in this evolution.
Social media trading goes live on DCM
Online trading service DCM Capital has released a trading platform with a social media sentiment feed, allowing traders to incorporate information from channels such as twitter and Facebook into their trading decisions.
Wall Street Systems acquires IT2 Treasury Solutions
IT2 Treasury Solutions, a UK company that provides treasury management software and services for large corporations and small and mid-sized financial institutions, has been sold to Wall Street Systems, a subsidiary of trading technology provider ION Trading.
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.
IT pros willing to back the bankers
The finance sector has been plagued with bad press over the past five years, with little respite for those in the industry, but despite the issues faced by the sector, 59% of IT jobseekers would still consider entering the industry, writes Richard Nott, website director at CWJobs.co.uk.
Swift appoints Kennel to head market infrastructure efforts
Swift, the Brussels-based financial messaging consortium has appointed Juliette Kennel to the newly-created post of head of market infrastructures. Kennel, formerly head of standards, will be responsible for bringing together Swift’s activities in this area. Swift’s relationships with other market infrastructures is a focus for Gottfried Leibbrandt, who took over as chief executive last summer, […]
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.
Diebold debuts cardless ATM at CES
ATM maker Diebold has developed an ATM that lets customers withdraw cash without using a card – and saves the bank money in the process.
BNY Mellon promises post-trade savings via Belgian CSD
BNY Mellon is planning to open a new issuer central securities depository that it claims will offer market participants more efficient post-trade services.
SunGard boosts corporate actions automation capability through acquisition of XSP
Financial technology company SunGard has acquired XcitekSolutionsPlus, a company that provides corporate actions tools, in a move aimed at capitalising on the increasing automation of the sector.
“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.
Thomson Reuters debuts FATCA compliance kit
Thomson Reuters has launched a tool to help financial institutions comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, widely known as FATCA, which requires banks to identify their US customers for tax purposes.
“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.
Rogue trader terms identified as Switzerland’s oldest bank is forced to close
Ernst & Young has developed new software designed to catch employees engaged in corporate wrongdoing, as Swiss bank Wegelin and Co prepares to cease operations following the firm’s prosecution for helping US citizens evade taxes.
Celoxica debuts HFT futures trading tools
UK technology company Celoxica has launched a new futures trading platform, which it says will make automated trading strategies even faster and more efficient.
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.
EC acceptance of Thomson Reuters’ proposals on RIC re-use frees data users
Data users wanting to use Reuters Instrument Codes to access data carried on consolidated data feeds from other information providers will be able to do so following the resolution of a European Commission investigation into whether Thomson Reuters was abusing its monopoly position.
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.
Industry welcomes attempt to clarify alternative investment regulations
Further clarification on the European Union’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers’ Directive, due to come into force in July next year, has been welcomed by the Alternative Investment Management Association, the global hedge fund association.
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.
New Year, New Job
New Year, New Job? With gloomy predictions and swingeing cuts at big firms, what do employment prospects look like in 2013? Also in this issue: Bloomberg’s Stanley Young on broadening its enterprise offerings. ART for art’s sake: Assess, Rationalise and Transform is the motto for risk management The Year Ahead: a round-up of views on what the year ahead […]
On board the enterprise
Like Apple under Steve Jobs, Bloomberg has a long-held reputation for being a ‘closed’ sort of company, reluctant to compromise its products or its ways of working.
BNY Mellon and Rule counter OTC derivatives conundrum
Asset managers should take five simple steps to counter the effect of rising collateral requirements for OTC derivatives, according to a joint study by BNY Mellon and Rule Financial.
Europe “will regret” financial transaction tax warns expert
The European Parliament has voted to approve the introduction of a financial transaction tax across 11 EU member states including France, Germany and Italy – but market participants warn that it may have unintended consequences.
