The DTCC is moving ahead with its alternative securities settlement platform —the Project Ion initiative — based upon distributed ledger technology (DLT) after “a successful prototype pilot” with market participants, officials say. The prototype pilot showed that DLT could support the shorter settlement cycles of trading day plus one (T+1) and settlement on the trading… Read More >>
ASX Identifies the Causes for its 2020 Outage
The equity market of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) suffered an outage last November following the implementation of a new version of the Nasdaq equity market trading system. Shortly thereafter, ASX officials commissioned an independent review to provide an explanation for trading interruption. Released last week, the preliminary results of the review indicate the updated… Read More >>
State Street Adopts Hybrid Model & Closes NYC Offices
State Street to Exit Midtown Manhattan The Boston-based State Street will be closing its midtown Manhattan offices and embracing a hybrid working model in response to staff members that have been working remotely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a prepared statement from the custodian banking giant. “Like most other companies, we… Read More >>
Can New Technologies Fix Old Ops Woes?
Cutting-edge, disruptive technologies — especially those that exploit advances in artificial intelligence — have captured the attention of securities trading firms. But turning the hype into useful ways to counter ongoing Ops problems remains a challenge for many firms. So, to help firms come to grips with machine learning (ML), robotics, natural language processing (NLP), regulatory… Read More >>
Canadian Regulator Takes Aim at Crypto-Trading Platform
Canadian financial services regulator, the Toronto-based Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has officially charged a Seychelles-based firm with running an online digital asset trading platform that is noncompliant with the securities-trading laws of the Canadian province. The allegations could result in millions of dollars in penalties and disgorgements. The OSC is formally charging Aux Cayes Fintech… Read More >>
TriOptima Launches Tri-Party Links via SWIFT
Four Tri-Party Agents Endorse New Connection TriOptima reports that its triResolve Margin offering now provides integration via the SWIFT financial services messaging and systems cooperative to four tri-party agents: BNY Mellon, Clearstream, Euroclear, and JPMorgan. “TriOptima’s clients will have direct connectivity to tri-parties via SWIFT for sending instructions as well as receiving status messages and… Read More >>
Regulatory Burdens Don’t End in the Cloud: FINRA
Many securities-trading firms have shifted their IT infrastructures to the cloud, but that does not change their regulatory responsibilities and may lead to new ones, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for broker-dealers. In a new research report, FINRA officials acknowledge that while cloud computing models promise “the potential… Read More >>
Crypto Undermines SEC’s Mission: Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Warren Urges SEC to Consider Crypto Regs Wall Street critic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is asking Gary Gensler, the chair of the SEC, via a recent letter, to investigate the ways that cryptocurrency exchanges “may be undermining the SEC’s mission” as a regulator of securities trading markets. The letter from Warren, who is… Read More >>
Bitcoin-Based Futures Are Risky Business: Regulators
An investor bulletin from the SEC and the CFTC is warning investors to be fully aware of the risks that come with Bitcoin-based futures given the many pitfalls that come with cryptocurrency trading. The “Funds Trading in Bitcoin Futures” bulletin from earlier this month targets “investors considering a fund with exposure to the Bitcoin futures… Read More >>
Broadridge’s DLR Handles $31B in Repos Daily
Post-trade systems and services provider Broadridge Financial Solutions officially launched on June 7 its distributed ledger repo (DLR) platform for bilateral repo trades that executed $31 billion in average daily volume during its first week. The blockchain-based transaction platform helps market participants “agree, execute and settle repo transactions,” officials say. Broadridge is hoping that the… Read More >>
