Akber Jaffer Replaces Haytham Kaddoura as CEO SmartStream, the post-trade operations solutions provider, has appointed Akber Jaffer as its new chief executive officer (CEO), effective September 19. Jaffer replaces Haytham Kaddoura, who has stepped down from the CEO post. Kaddoura will join SmartStream’s board. Jaffer has “spent several years immersed in both start-up and scaled… Read More >>
JPMorgan & TCS Expand Alliance & Other SIBOS News
While SWIFT’s SIBOS conference and exhibit is known for serving many financial services sectors at once, the securities community at the weeklong event in Toronto last week had a lot to explore, including the news from JPMorgan, which added corporate actions processing support from TCS, EquiLend embracing DLT, and Duco exploring new technologies. JPMorgan Securities… Read More >>
SEC Proposes IT Amendments for EDGAR
Fall is in the air. And that means big new movies and TV shows (despite the strikes by Hollywood writers and actors). This year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has gotten into the spirit of the season with a proposal to amend EDGAR. EDGAR, as we all know, is shorthand for the Electronic… Read More >>
Options Plans to Hire 200 Over 3 Years & Other News
200 New Jobs Are Coming to Belfast Options Technology, a provider of cloud-enabled managed services, plans to “create 200 new jobs in Belfast over the next three years” as it expands its operations, officials say. The company is headquartered in Belfast City Centre’s Linen Loft building. The company added “100 new team members” over the… Read More >>
SWIFT Warms to Tokenized Assets After Industry Tests
SWIFT is warming up to the concept of being able to transfer tokenized assets from its infrastructure to multiple public and private blockchains. This follows the positive results that the global financial messaging cooperative experienced after conducting a series of experiments that tested the SWIFT infrastructure via the transfer of tokenized assets, according to an… Read More >>
CME & DTCC Ready Cross-Margining Offering & Other News
SEC & CFTC Approve Joint Effort for Treasuries & Futures The SEC and CFTC have approved a new cross-margining arrangement between CME Group and the DTCC that will “permit eligible clearing members of CME and the Government Securities Division (GSD) of DTCC’s Fixed Income Clearing Corp. (FICC) to cross-margin an expanded suite of products,”… Read More >>
FBI, FINRA Alert Firms About Email Cyberattacks
A recent alert from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns financial services firms using Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) Appliances, even those with “up-to-date security patches,” that they “remain at risk for continued computer network compromise from threat actors exploiting a zero-day vulnerability.” The FBI’s alert also referred to “suspected PRC Cyber Actors,”… Read More >>
SS&C Buys MFA Business from Iress & Other News
Acquisition to Help SS&C’s Transfer Agent Business Iress, a trading software and services provider, is selling its managed funds administration (MFA) business to SS&C Technologies, which will use the acquisition to strengthen its position as a transfer agent in Australia, officials say. Iress is based in Melbourne, Australia. “The MFA business [from Iress] is… Read More >>
Firms Want More ESG Data: Report
“More than nine in 10 executives plan to increase ESG data spend, but data linkage and managing multiple vendor feeds dilute value,” according to a recent survey by market data and news giant Bloomberg and market research firm Adox Research. Adox provides “advice and marketing for banks, asset managers, custodians, and tech providers.” “ESG,” as… Read More >>
ISDA Docs Expert Launches Online Course & Other News
Course Targets Firms that Use ISDA Master Agreements Edyta Knizewska, a derivatives documentation expert, reports that she is offering an online course about “understanding and negotiating ISDA Master Agreements.” The master agreements “govern over-the-counter derivatives transactions,” and Knizewska, a legal consultant, negotiator and derivatives lawyer wants to offer her experience through her ISDA Lab course…. Read More >>
