In other FinTech news, VidaCaixa will be working with SimCorp, Opus launches a module, and Germany’s MainFirst embraces an Inferno.
CME to Complete Closures by the End of 2017
Citing customer preferences for its U.S. infrastructure, CME Group officials report that they will be closing the London-based derivatives exchange, CME Europe, and the clearinghouse, CME Clearing Europe, by the end of the year, officials say.
For the dismantling, CME Group officials will be working closely with “all market participants and regulators to ensure a smooth transition and an orderly wind down of business operations,” officials say.
The shutdown will include a provision for CME Group market alternatives for actively traded products on CME Europe.
“While Europe continues to be a critically important and expanding market for CME Group, with average volumes of more than 2.6 million contracts per day from European clients during 2016, our customers have shown that they prefer to access our global products, deep liquidity and greater capital efficiencies through our U.S. infrastructure,” says William Knottenbelt, CME group senior managing director, international, in a prepared statement.
The exchanges company “will continue to maintain a significant operation in London” to execute a global growth strategy, including serving a European client base, developing products and services, and helping customers manage risk across major asset classes, Knottenbelt says.
The CME Group offers exchange services, electronic trading, and benchmark products across asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. The company also offers clearing and settlement services.
VidaCaixa Picks SimCorp for Front and Middle Office Ops
VidaCaixa, part of the CaixaBank Group and an insurance company in Spain, has decided to deploy the SimCorp Dimension integrated investment management system for front and middle-office operations across its pension funds and investment departments.
Following VidaCaixa’s selection process, SimCorp Dimension was designated to provide the firm’s “current and future business needs and strategy,” say officials at the firm.
VidaCaixa, which manages assets of €67 billion ($71.1 billion) and 4.5 million customers, has grown its premiums and contributions “amidst a tough and continually challenging market environment,” officials say.
“The implementation of SimCorp Dimension will enable us to scale for growth by implementing a high level of integration and automation across a wide range of business functions,” says Ernesto Moreno, chief investment officer at VidaCaixa, in a prepared statement. “Equally important, the solution will enable us to comply with current and future regulations in a cost-effective manner, plus provide our front-office business teams with the real-time data they need to make faster and more informed investment decisions. We look forward to working with SimCorp on this strategic project.”
Opus Launches Alacra Surveillance Module
Opus, a compliance and risk management software as a service (SaaS) vendor, has launched Alacra Surveillance, a new module for its Alacra Compliance Enterprise (ACE) and Alacra Compliance Professional (ACP) solutions, officials say.
“Alacra Surveillance provides clients with targeted and timely alerts on risk-relevant events through proactive monitoring, helping financial institutions to better manage risk and compliance,” according to Opus. The new module offers clients “a customized, consolidated daily view into risk-relevant events” that eliminates the need for manual systems.
An integrated module, Alacra Surveillance uses proprietary matching techniques, configurable filters and multiple data source options, officials say.
Germany’s MainFirst Deploys Torstone’s Inferno Platform
MainFirst Bank A.G., an independent German financial services firm specializing in equity brokerage, capital markets and asset management, has deployed the middle and back office platform, Inferno, from Torstone Technology.
MainFirst implemented the new platform in August 2016 after a pilot project that “demonstrated that Inferno could meet the broker’s functional requirements, which included German specific confirmations and transaction reporting, as well as connectivity to Deutsche Börse,” according to vendor and MainFirst officials. “MainFirst went live on Inferno in March 2017, migrating all post-trade processing away from the incumbent third party system.”
The Torstone system “provides us with a flexible, scalable solution that enables us to effectively grow our business and respond to evolving market and regulatory requirements. The integrated nature of the system has helped to streamline our back office operations process, as we can now operate through a single, unified user interface,” says Michael Lange, partner, head of operations at MainFirst, in a statement.
The Inferno platform offers trade capture, confirmation, settlement, accounting and reconciliation, vendor officials say.
The vendor’s “flexible approach to infrastructure and hosting meant that we have been able to meet MainFirst’s regulatory requirements in a post-Brexit scenario, by hosting the system locally in Frankfurt,” says Brian Collings, CEO of Torstone, in a statement. “The modular nature of our platform means that MainFirst can extend the system as needed, as new regulatory requirements enter into force.”
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