AcadiaSoft, a back-office collateral management services provider for uncleared derivatives, has acquired Quaternion Risk Management, a front-office, consulting and software provider, laying the groundwork for an integrated, real-time, risk management solution to come, officials say. The transaction will bolster AcadiaSoft’s risk mitigation offerings and is a response to the industry demand for more standardized risk services,… Read More >>
Major Ops Vendors Endorse SFTR Reporting via GTR
The DTCC has scored the support of major operations IT and service providers as they have agreed to link their Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) reporting solutions to the DTCC’s Global Trade Repository (GTR) in a bid for a streamlined workflow, officials say. The DTCC has new partnerships with Broadridge Financial Solutions, FIS Global, Murex,… Read More >>
ISITC Jolts Ops Standards, Embraces the Cutting-Edge
(FTF News got a rare chance to check in with Erica Borghi, the current chair of the International Securities Association for Institutional Trade Communication (ISITC), and Lisa Iagatta, current vice chair for ISITC, an industry group that advances standards, technology and best practices for financial services operations. In a wide-ranging Q&A, they provide updates on… Read More >>
CME Group, GCSA Capital Build Collateral Solution
The CME Group, which operates derivatives exchanges, and GCSA Capital, a provider of collateral and risk transfer solutions, have been developing an additional form of collateral — a letter of credit issued by a bankruptcy-remote trust — acceptable for use via CME Clearing. The two companies have been readying the Prefunded Treasury Facility (PTF), a… Read More >>
Firms Face Cutting-Edge & Conventional IT Challenges in 2018
(Editor’s note: This tumultuous year is winding down but there’s every reason to think that securities operations will continue to make leaps and bounds next year especially when it comes to cutting-edge IT. Erica Borghi (née Choinski), chair of the International Securities Association for Institutional Trade Communication (ISITC), and vice president of Fintech Risk at… Read More >>
New LCH Account Type Targets Collateral Burdens
The LCH Ltd. clearinghouse has launched a new type of client account via its SwapClear service that among other aspects will allow European buy-side firms to send collateral directly to the LCH and allow them to retain beneficial title to it, officials say. The creation of the new account type, CustodialSeg, is in response to… Read More >>
Support Growing for ISDA’s Initial Margin Standard
Support is growing for a new methodology for calculating initial margin for non-cleared derivatives instruments that was developed by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). Simultaneously, exchange and clearinghouse operator, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), reports that the ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) group, a provider of regulated benchmarks, launched a crowdsourcing facility in support of… Read More >>
HTG Capital Buys Three of Kottke’s Businesses
HTG, Kottke to Form a ‘Strong Team’ HTG Capital Partners, a liquidity provider for listed and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives instruments, is slated to acquire the introducing broker, money management and proprietary trading businesses of Kottke Associates, creating “a strong team” to take on the futures industry, say officials. HTG and Kottke Associates, which is a… Read More >>
FICC Wants to Expand Tri-Party Repo Clearing
The Fixed Income Clearing Corp. (FICC), a DTCC subsidiary, wants to provide centralized clearing for more participants in the estimated $1.6 trillion institutional tri-party repo market and will be asking the SEC and the Federal Reserve for the permission to do so. The FICC oversees the confirmation and settlement of fixed-income securities for U.S. markets…. Read More >>
Uncleared Swaps Hit With Steep Margin Increases
U.S. regulators unveiled rules for derivatives on Wednesday that could make margin requirements for uncleared swaps 40 to 45 percent higher than cleared transactions, and could lead to a host of operational and legal difficulties for firms trading in them. The proposed rules establish the minimum amount of collateral that financial firms would have to… Read More >>
