Guest Contributor: Mary Todd, Cosgrove Law LLC Because the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 reform bill grabs headlines every day, other regulations are entering the scene almost undetected. Broker-dealers and registered investment advisors may not be fully aware of new upcoming regulations, which could have significant impact their business. The
Guest Blog
The SEC’s Bipolar Approach to Credit Rating Agencies
Guest Contributor: John Jay, Senior Analyst, Aite Group The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is coming to the rescue of the investment community; it is considering leveling civil fraud charges against credit rating agencies (CRAs) — in particular Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s — in relation to their roles in facilitating the 2008 and 2009
Compliance
Too Big to Fail?
While watching Too Big to Fail last night on HBO I was reminded of an article I read last week titled “Clearing Houses ‘Would Not Have Prevented Financial Crisis’”. Basically, the article’s point was that while there have been efforts made since the financial crisis to prevent future ordeals there hasn’t been enough focus on
Regulation
What Should a Financial Services Firm’s Top Concern Really Be?
Surveys, studies and whitepapers are released on a frequent basis concerning the top priority of financial services firms in the current market climate. However, these results rarely reflect the same priority as being the “top priority.” This leads me to the question: What should a financial services firm’s main concern really be? Regulation, technology, staffing,
Derivatives
Proposed Derivatives Rules: Regulators Going Too Far?
Guest Contributor: John Jay, Senior Analyst, Aite Group The name of the game is derivatives regulation, and financial regulators are asking end users to ante up. While pursuing risk management activities, non-financial firms may be subjected to posting higher collateral requirements with their financial counterparties (i.e., banks) than are currently necessary. In part, these firms
Compliance
Regulators vs. Traders
Traditionally, OTC derivative trades are not required to take place over an exchange, but regulators are working on changing that very soon. The OTC derivatives market has been boisterously opposing the potential new regulations that will require them to now trade over exchanges because it will mean that they will need higher collateral and better
Dodd-Frank
Dodd-Frank Deadliness Likely to Extend
Given the tight one-year deadline, it comes as no surprise that the SEC, the CFTC and various industry trade associations are already talking about extensions to the fast approaching July 21st deadline to implement Dodd-Frank. On April 8th, the SEC released a statement saying that they are likely to extend the deadline for mid-sized investment
Buy-Side
Fragmentation v Consolidation
Guest Contributor: Steve Grob, Fidessa Seems like equity and other capital marketplaces are going through the ying and yang of fragmentation and consolidation. Just as we hear about another merger, we read about another new venue going live or more regulation encouraging competition. This provides market participants with a problem, especially in terms of understanding
Compliance
Basel III: Planning for the Future
Guest Contributor: Joe Antocci, Account Manager, Avid Technical Resources While the world picks up the pieces caused by the destruction of the economic crisis, financial institutions face a variety of challenges – among these challenges is how to respond to the wave of new regulatory reform. Given that technology plays such a vital role in
Compliance
Dodd-Frank and IT Departments – A Super Team?
Since being signed into law this past July, Dodd-Frank has created many challenges for the Financial Services Industry. New requirements and compliance rules will be affecting nearly every sector of the industry from data management to proprietary trading, but what will the impact be on a firm’s IT department? IT departments are usually asked to
