Broadridge, NRI and AxiomSL also have FinTech news.
CME to Offer Clearing for Global Firms
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME) has gotten the approval of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to operate in the European Union as central counterparty clearinghouse (CCP).
The notice came as part of an ongoing update of approved CCPs based in third countries, according to ESMA officials.
“Today’s action by ESMA will ensure that CME Clearing will be able to continue to provide the clearing services that our global customers depend upon to manage risk,” says Terry Duffy, CME Group executive chairman and president, in response to ESMA’s actions, which were part of a long process. “It also will ensure that U.S. markets are not put at a disadvantage in our highly competitive global marketplace.”
CME Group consists of diverse derivatives trading venues, including exchanges for futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals.
Broadridge Acquires 4sight Financial Software
Investor communications and post-trade vendor Broadridge Financial Solutions has acquired 4sight Financial Software, a maker of securities finance and collateral management systems.
The union will allow Broadridge to offer securities lending, repo processing, synthetic financing and enterprise-wide collateral management to banks, broker-dealers, asset managers and other buy-side firms, officials say.
The newly acquired 4sight will become part of Broadridge Securities Financing and Collateral Management solutions, which target financing decisions across different asset categories, automate the securities financing lifecycle and control risk. The Broadridge product set works with the company’s recently-announced Global Post Trade Management (GPTM) solution and managed services capabilities for business process outsourcing, officials say.
The global footprint of 4sight will complement Broadridge’s North American presence in the securities financing market, officials say. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“The greater demand for collateral driven by the regulatory agenda has raised the need for a global approach to the multi-asset securities financing lifecycle,” said Michael Hopkins, president of fixed income, financing and risk at Broadridge, in a prepared statement. The acquisition follows the recent purchase of Anetics.
The 4sight offering has “a holistic, global and multi-asset view of collateral and positions integrated across an enterprise, banks, broker-dealers, agent lenders and buy-side institutions can truly manage collateral and optimize financing decisions, while gaining a greater control of risk and improving balance sheet management,” said Alastair Chisholm, founder of 4sight and vice president, general manager at Broadridge.
Quayle Munro Ltd. acted as 4sight’s financial advisor in this transaction, Broadridge officials say.
NRI Launchs ASP for Structured Bonds, OTC Instruments
Nomura Research Institute (NRI) has launched VOLCS, an application service provider (ASP) multipurpose management system for financial institutions that targets structured bonds and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, officials say.
The structured bond and OTC markets have been getting more attention lately because of the effects of stock price changes and Japan’s negative interest rates, officials say.
“VOLCS provides two functions such as due day management for structured bonds and OTC derivatives as well as cash management, and the former is usually not available in an existing enterprise system,” NRI officials say. “Each function can be used independently and thus can be used by non-financial firms depending on their purposes.”
Both types of financial products are complicated and require detailed calculation and settlement day management, causing a major operational and financial burden to financial institutions, officials say.
Due day management of VOLCS can achieve:
- Leveling and upgrading of operations while reducing risks;
- Reduced system modification cost;
- And proper coordination between the investment and finance departments.
SAP and AxiomSL Join Forces for New Service
SAP, an enterprise application software vendor, and AxiomSL, a regulatory reporting and risk management solutions provider, have launched a solution designed to help firms improve data management infrastructures that help them comply with global regulatory and risk reporting requirements, risk data aggregation and reporting (BCBS 239) and other financial and accounting standards.
The new service combines AxiomSL’s data integration platform and analytics solutions, with SAP’s in-memory platform for data processing and analytics called HANA, officials say.
The combination will provide granular data processing and harmonization capabilities, enabling standardization of internal data they must submit to different regulators, officials say. “As a result, complex data aggregation and reporting processes can be simplified, optimized and automated, enabling easier decision-making, even on extremely large data sets,” according to the vendors.
The solution will also act as a depository for shared data in a bid to break down operational silos of risk, finance and accounting.
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