In other news, BBH has a new global head of securities lending, Bloomberg has a new client in Denmark, and Eventus updates its user interface.
SEC & CFTC Approve Joint Effort for Treasuries & Futures
The SEC and CFTC have approved a new cross-margining arrangement between CME Group and the DTCC that will “permit eligible clearing members of CME and the Government Securities Division (GSD) of DTCC’s Fixed Income Clearing Corp. (FICC) to cross-margin an expanded suite of products,” officials say.
The collaboration, which will target clearing members “that trade and clear both U.S. Treasury securities and CME Group Interest Rate futures,” is expected to launch in January 2024, officials add.
The arrangement covers CME Group SOFR futures, Ultra 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note futures and Ultra U.S. Treasury Bond futures, and FICC-cleared U.S. Treasury notes and bonds. “Repo transactions that have Treasury collateral with a remaining time to maturity greater than one year will also be eligible for the enhanced cross-margining arrangement,” officials say.
“We appreciate the opportunity to further our collaboration with DTCC for the benefit of market participants who trade across cash and futures markets,” says Suzanne Sprague, global head of clearing and post-trade services at CME Group, in a prepared statement.
A company that consists of derivatives exchanges, CME Group facilitates the trading of futures, options, cash and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, officials say. The DTCC offers post-trade market infrastructure systems, services, and support for the global financial services industry.
BBH Names New Global Head of Securities Lending
Sarah Holmes
Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) has promoted Sarah Holmes to the post of global head of securities lending, where she will oversee “product evolution, client engagement, and trading for securities lending,” officials say.
Holmes will “focus on advancing” the bank’s securities lending technology, data capabilities, data transparency, and client efficiency, officials say. Holmes joined BBH in 1995 and has previously held the post of chief administrative officer within the bank’s systems and technology group.
The bank has also appointed Tom Poppey to the role of head of product strategy within securities lending while Robert Lees will remain as global head of securities lending trading, officials say.
“We aspire to provide global investment managers with superior risk-adjusted revenue combined with an outstanding client experience,” Holmes says in a prepared statement. “I am focusing first on advancing our industry-leading e-trading capabilities, and adding technology, product features, and functionality that will benefit our clients and drive efficiencies across our program.”
Poppey will focus on “evolving BBH’s automated trading technology, and enhancing DealBoard, BBH’s proprietary technology that aggregates markets and lending data to uncover executable lending optimization opportunities within idle portfolio assets,” officials say.
BBH serves asset managers, financial institutions, privately-held companies, families, and wealthy individuals via three business lines: investor services, investment management, and private banking, officials say. The bank operates in more than 90 markets worldwide from 18 offices and employs approximately 6,000 professionals.
NAM Deploys Bloomberg’s Buy-Side Solutions
Copenhagen-based Nykredit Asset Management (NAM), the asset management arm of the Nykredit Group, has deployed buy-side trading solutions from Bloomberg in an effort to grow its assets under management (AUM), officials say.
The firm currently manages approximately €60 billion ($64.5 billion) in assets.
Nykredit Asset Management will deploy Bloomberg AIM, an order and investment management solution intended to streamline the firm’s “multi-asset order management operations while integrating trading connectivity for multiple asset classes,” officials say. Data management will be optimized via a single data set that will support front-office applications.
“The firm has also adopted Bloomberg’s portfolio and risk analytics solution PORT Enterprise,” officials say. PORT Enterprise offers risk and attribution models and portfolio analytics.
“By implementing Bloomberg’s integrated portfolio and order management systems, Nykredit Asset Management is provided a holistic view of front-office operations to better manage its portfolios across the investment lifecycle,” officials say.
“Nykredit Asset Management is focused on continuously improving the front-to-middle office investment chain … Bloomberg’s industry-leading solutions will support us greatly as we look to scale and futureproof our business,” says Thomas Bjørn Jensen, chief operating officer (COO), asset management at Nykredit Group, in a prepared statement.
Bloomberg Buy-Side Solutions are intended to help firms with their front-to-back technology workflows, officials add.
NAM was established in 1983 and is “among the largest asset managers in the Nordic region,” officials say.
The firm offers active and passive strategies across asset classes and has “a strong tradition of, and emphasis on, fundamental ESG integration into the investment process. Our strong administrative platform allows for full flexibility in managing our clients’ assets under different umbrellas and in multiple wrappings (mandates, UCITS, AIFs, etc),” officials say.
The firm’s clients include pension funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, foundations, corporates, public institutions, and retail clients globally.
Eventus Updates the UI for the Validus Platform
Eventus, a provider of trade surveillance software, has introduced what it is calling “the next-generation user interface (UI)” for its Validus platform, which includes “an enhanced dashboard layer and easy-to-use investigation tools,” officials say.
The new UI is intended to provide “faster surveillance insights,” and “comprehensive new case-building features and greater transparency,” officials say.
The new UI is “designed by our internal practitioners — including market, regulatory, compliance and tech experts — but very much shaped by the valuable input and insight we gain from our users, who are faced with more challenges, pain points and pressure than ever before,” says Travis Schwab, CEO for Eventus.
The UI features a centralized “cockpit” that helps firms improve investigations and alert management, officials say.
“The new data visualization tool helps users analyze trading behavior, from summary information to details of account activity through multiple products, procedures, and asset classes. The tool enables compliance and surveillance staff to see data in context, allowing them to quickly and precisely triage, investigate, and resolve alerts,” officials say.
Compliance and regulatory staff, legal officers, analysts, heads of trading and others in financial services use the Validus platform to scan equities, options, futures, foreign exchange (FX), fixed income, and digital assets in markets across the globe, officials say.
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