In other news, CATFP works with Broadridge, Cboe taps Broadway Technology & the PCAOB revamps inspection priorities.
RTX Fintech & Research Launches a SEF
Another swap execution facility (SEF) has gotten regulatory approval, raising the number of active SEFs to 24.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week issued an order of registration to RTX Fintech & Research LLC (RTX SEF) allowing RTX SEF to launch, according to the CFTC. The New York City-based, single-member, limited liability company RTX SEF has been registered in Delaware, officials add.
The parent company RTX “is an electronic marketplace for derivatives dealers, and other ECPs in the global interest rate swaps and options markets,” according to RTX, which offers “trading solutions for swaps trading practitioners in the global derivative markets.”
The new SEF “will offer electronic and voice order books and require and facilitate clearing of all swaps executed on or pursuant to the rules of its platform,” according to the CFTC. It will be “responsible for conducting its own market surveillance, utilizing various in-house and external tools to monitor trading activity in real-time and on a trade date plus one basis and to enforce its trading rules.”
“The terms and conditions of the order require, among other things, that RTX SEF comply with all provisions of the CEA and the CFTC’s regulations applicable to SEFs,” according to the CFTC announcement.
A full list of the 24 SEFs registered with the CFTC can be found here: https://bit.ly/3Lw11xQ
CAT Financial Products Selects Broadridge
CAT Financial Products, a Zurich-based provider of securities and investment services for structured products, reports that it has implemented an international multi-asset post-trade processing solution from Broadridge Financial Solutions. The implementation is intended to boost CATFP’s front-to-back office processing efficiency, officials say.
The Broadridge solution is cloud-based platform that “combines principal trading for securities, derivatives, FX and crypto markets, together with its issuance and agency brokerage service for Actively Managed Certificates (AMCs),” officials say.
“We are strategically positioned to gain new momentum through the development of structured products, AMCs and exchange-traded products, all delivered through an enhanced and differentiated client service offering,” says Stephan Giselbrecht, chief operating officer (COO) for CATFP.
“Broadridge, through its advanced technology and outstanding service provision, stood out as our natural go-to partner to enable a frictionless, unified post-trade infrastructure and best-in-class service across all asset types,” Giselbrecht says.
CATFP offers services to asset managers, banks, and institutional investors.
Broadway Technology Tapped for Cboe Platform
Cboe Global Markets has tapped Broadway Technology to be its infrastructure service provider (ISP) for the new U.S. Treasuries trading platform to come from the global exchanges company.
The Cboe U.S. Treasuries platform is “the first-ever full amount trading platform (where any incoming marketable order will trade in full against only one counterparty) for the trading of on-the-run U.S. Treasuries,” officials say.
“Broadway will provide Cboe full-service co-location, cloud hosting and system oversight to help ensure a seamless trading experience on Cboe’s U.S. Treasuries platform,” officials say. Broadway’s ISP support for managing fixed income trading systems is intended to improve “productivity, reduce overall cost and time-to-market.”
Broadway offers front-office fintech solutions to sell-side and buy-side clients such as “more than half of the top 50 banks in the world,” officials say. The vendor was founded in 2003 by enterprise software and quantitative trading specialists. Broadway has offices in New York, Austin, Chicago, London, Toronto and Hyderabad.
PCAOB Revamps Inspection Priorities
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) officials say that audits are facing “a troubling trend” that a revamped list of inspection priorities will be addressing.
The finding is part of a recently published overview of PCAOB priorities for 2023 inspections made available via a new PCAOB staff report, officials say.
In the report, there are “plans to increase the focus on fraud-related audit procedures, continue prioritizing risks related to material digital assets, and continue selecting audits in the financial services sector for inspection, among other priorities,” according to the PCAOB.
“Increased deficiencies in 2021 inspections and increased comment forms in 2022 inspections revealed a troubling trend in audit quality, which we are tackling head-on in 2023,” says Erica Y. Williams, chair of PCAOB, in a prepared statement. “By staying ahead of new and emerging risks, our inspections plan will hold firms accountable and drive improvements in audit quality for investors.”
Williams is challenging “the audit profession to sharpen its focus on improving audit quality and protecting investors,” according to the PCAOB.
The PCAOB’s list of 2023 inspection priorities includes: risk of fraud; auditing and accounting risks; risk assessment and internal controls; financial services specific considerations; broker-dealer specific considerations; M&A, including de-SPAC transactions; digital assets; use of the work of other auditors; quality control (particularly talent retention and its impact on audit quality, and independence); and other areas of inspection (critical audit matters, cybersecurity, and use of data and technology in the audit)
Overall, the target team of inspectors, “who execute in-depth reviews across audit firms each year, will focus its work in 2023 on audits that include risks related to digital assets, first year audits, multi-location audits, and significant or unusual events or transactions,” officials add. “As part of ongoing efforts to enhance inspections, today’s report also says inspectors will expand the number of audits they review for certain annual firms.”
The PCAOB oversees “the audits of public companies in order to protect investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of brokers and dealers, including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal securities laws,” officials note.
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