The CFTC has issued another in a series of no-action letters that allows swap execution facilities (SEFs) and designated contract markets (DCMs) to fix clerical and operational errors that caused swap transactions to be rejected for clearing and thus voided. In addition, the side-stepping of key regulatory requirements will also permit SEFs and DCMs to… Read More >>
Whistleblowers May Survive Trump’s Regulatory Overhaul
While the Trump Team is clearly trying to change the dynamics of key regulators such as the SEC and CFTC, one popular and successful service — support for whistleblowers — may be staying pretty much the same. In fact, it appears the CFTC may be strengthening its support of its whistleblowers program, which is a… Read More >>
CFTC Launches NYC-based FinTech Lab
CFTC Wants to Jolt FinTech Innovation U.S. regulator, the CFTC has created a financial technology laboratory, LabCFTC, intended to promote innovation to improve “the quality, resiliency, and competitiveness of the markets the CFTC oversees,” officials say. LabCFTC, which will be located in New York, also exists to “accelerate CFTC engagement with FinTech and RegTech solutions… Read More >>
CFTC, SEC Greenlight New Hires
With a growth agenda in mind, the Trump White House is moving to fill vacancies at the CFTC and SEC, left open since the end of the Obama administration. At the CFTC, White House officials announced that former fund manager Brian D. Quintenz of Ohio has been nominated a second time to be a CFTC… Read More >>
CFTC Charges Firm with Commodity Pool Ponzi Scheme
CFTC officials report that they have filed a civil enforcement action charging Robert Leland Johnson IV and Marisa Elena Johnson, both of Chino, Calif., with “commodity futures fraud; off-exchange, leveraged or margined retail foreign currency (forex) fraud; [and] commodity pool fraud.” In addition, the CFTC charges what it calls their “purported hedge fund,” Capitol Equity… Read More >>
Options Clearing Corp. Taps Citi for New President-COO
New OCC Exec to Take Control in May The Options Clearing Corp. (OCC), the equity derivatives clearing organization, reports that John P. Davidson, a veteran in the financial services industry, has joined as president and chief operating officer (COO), effective May 8. Davidson, who will report to OCC Chairman and CEO Craig Donohue, and replaces… Read More >>
DTCC Fills Key Equity Clearing Post
DTCC Hires from Options Clearing Corp. The DTCC, a post-trade market infrastructure services provider, reports that Michael McClain has joined as a managing director and general manager of equity clearing. McClain will be responsible for heading the “day-to-day equity clearing business operations and strategic initiatives,” and will report to Murray Pozmanter, managing director and head… Read More >>
Has Your Firm Been ‘Spoofed?’
(Editor’s Note: Digital Age market manipulation via practices known as “spoofing” and “layering” are hitting home for many firms and regulators are beginning to take notice. For instance, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and major exchange companies recently alleged that the broker-dealer, Lek Securities, and its CEO facilitated acts of layering, spoofing and cross-product… Read More >>
CFTC Fines, Bans Two Citi Traders for Spoofing
The CFTC has issued two separate but related orders settling charges against Stephen Gola and Jonathan Brims for spoofing — generally defined as “bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution” — in U.S. Treasury futures markets while trading for Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI). The actions against the… Read More >>
CFTC Taps Federal Prosecutor to be Enforcement Director
Jamie McDonald to Start CFTC Post on April 10 James McDonald, who has served as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, has been named the director of the CFTC’s Enforcement Division, according to the CFTC’s Acting Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo. McDonald will replace Vince McGonagle, who has been serving as acting director… Read More >>
