In other FinTech news, RegTek embraces SFTR, SEC & FINRA host a compliance program, Arab Bank in Switzerland taps Integral, and an Asian firm turns to Trading Technologies.
Benchmarking Tool Debuts for Hedge Funds & Others
CME Group, a provider of derivatives marketplaces, reports the launch of ENSO Data Insights, which it characterizes as “a benchmarking tool which leverages ENSO’s alternative data set to help customers make more informed investment decisions.”
ENSO Data Insights “provides hedge funds, asset managers and banks … access to a diverse pool of global multi-asset class securities to help them compare best execution financing rates, trend analysis for long and short position sector changes, sector breakdown, top position movers, crowdedness scoring, and the most active stock borrow rate changes…. The tool helps clients evaluate how market dynamics are driving costs and demands to borrow stock, optimize counterparty management and seize alpha-generating opportunities,” CME says in a statement.
ENSO, claims more than one trillion dollars in assets under administration, “covering 33 percent of the global hedge fund equity long short market.”
ENSO Data Insights is now available to ENSO’s global client base, per CME.
RegTek Solutions Supports SFTR Reporting
RegTek Solutions, a provider of regulatory reporting solutions, reports the extension of its platform to include a “full reporting solution” for the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR).
The SFTR is the “European Union’s response” to the Financial Stability Board’s 2013 policy proposals on securities lending and repos, per the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC). The SFTR rules came into effect early in 2016.
RegTek’s SFTR support includes “connectivity to leading trade repositories” and covers “all interactions and controls, allowing clients to focus on the internal data sourcing and business process changes” required by the regulation.
RegTek notes that it maintains offices in New York, London and Riga, Latvia, and points out that its offerings are employed by “more than half of the G16 banks, as well as regulatory reporting intermediaries and buy-side firms.”
SEC & FINRA Host Compliance Program in June
With broker-dealers in mind, the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have opened registration for their 2019 National Compliance Outreach Program for Broker-Dealers, slated for June 27, 2019, in Chicago, officials say.
“The program is designed to provide an open forum for regulators and industry professionals including compliance, internal audit, and other senior personnel of broker-dealer firms and branch offices to discuss current compliance practices and promote a more effective compliance structure for the protection of investors,” according to the SEC.
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), in coordination with the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, is sponsoring the program with FINRA, officials say.
The program will be held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Central Time, say officials who add that the program will focus on insights from leadership, protecting retail investors, and regulatory hot subjects such as digital assets and cybersecurity, officials say.
Officials say the event is free but in-person attendance is limited to 250 on a first-come, first-served basis.
“There will be a maximum of four attendees per firm,” officials say. For those that cannot attend, a live webcast will be available here. CPE, CRCP and CFP continuing education (CE) credits and a CLE voucher will be available to in-person attendees only, officials add.
Additional details, the agenda and information on how to register for the event visit the SEC’s website here. Information on FINRA’s website can be found here.
Arab Bank in Switzerland Deploys FX System
Integral, a foreign exchange (FX) trading technology specialist, reports that Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. has “deployed a trading app built on the Integral platform to expand mobile trading services to their institutional and corporate customers.”
Arab Bank in Switzerland is a part of Arab Bank plc, founded in 1930, and headquartered in Amman, Jordan. The firm describes itself as one of the “largest financial institutions in the Middle East, and today boast clients in “more than 600 branches spanning five continents.”
Integral describes Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. as a “bridge between the Arab and Western world” that for more than 50 years has been a “partner to established businesses, wealthy individuals and ambitious entrepreneurs” with ties to the Middle East and North African region.
Arab Bank (Switzerland) also spotlights its commitment to providing an “end-to-end FX solution to its customers and has worked closely with Integral since 2014 to enhance its services with a bespoke single dealer platform” for clients. When its “customer demand for access to mobile trading grew, Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. again turned to Integral to develop a mobile trading app,” per Integral’s statement.
Arab Bank (Switzerland) was founded in 1962, and the bank notes that it is “subject to all Swiss banking laws, rules and regulations and is supervised by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority… The bank is active in Wealth Management and Commodity Trade Finance.”
Integral’s financial services platform is based in the cloud. Founded in 1993, Integral notes that it “maintains development, support, and sales offices in Palo Alto [Calif.], New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore and Bangalore.”
Phillip Futures to Use Trading Technologies Platform
Singapore-based brokerage Phillip Futures has contracted with Trading Technologies Inc. (TT), maker of professional trading software, to distribute the TT futures trading platform, officials say.
The agreement allows Phillip Futures to provide direct access to TT’s suite of trading tools such as the MD Trader ladder, Autospreader, integrated trade surveillance, charting and analytics, and infrastructure and data solutions, officials say.
“Our clients’ needs keep evolving and Phillip Futures is always striving to cater to these needs,” says Teyu Che Chern, CEO of Phillip Futures, in a statement. “Partnering with the right platform providers and investing in the most efficient platforms are steps we take to ensure our clients always have the best tools to trade,” Chern says.
TT’s privately managed infrastructure spans five continents, officials say.
Launched in 1983, Phillip Futures is a member of PhillipCapital Group and is one of the founding clearing members of Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading (SGX-DT), officials say.
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