The CFTC is ordering Deutsche Bank Securities (DBSI), a New York-based futures commission merchant (FCM), to pay $3 million to settle charges of improper investment of customer segregated funds, reporting and recordkeeping violations, and supervision failures. CFTC officials say they acknowledge the FCM’s “cooperation and corrective action” after deficiencies were discovered. A spokesperson for the… Read More >>
Ops Story of the Year: The Return of the T+2 Push
It’s been a dynamic year when straight through processing (STP) and the push for T+2 settlement cycles made big comebacks while disturbing layoffs and ongoing fines and penalties appeared to be on the rise. We at FTF News have compiled the following list of the top Ops stories, trends, new currents and online video coverage… Read More >>
Euronext Taps Cinnober for Trade Validation & Confirmation
Cinnober Financial Technology reports the signing of an order with Euronext, the European exchange group, for a trade validation and confirmation solution that will run on its Tradexpress trading platform and be adapted to Euronext’s specific requirements. The planned service is expected to launch with equity derivatives in the spring of 2015, according to a… Read More >>
DTCC’s GTR Launches in Canada
Post-trade services provider DTCC has taken another step toward its goal of establishing an industry-wide repository for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives via the launch of its Global Trade Repository (GTR) in Canada, which will target buy-side firms when they begin reporting next year. The Ontario Securities Commission, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers in Québec and the… Read More >>
Q&A: Post-Trade Integration Key to SEF Success
James Cawley was a co-founder of Javelin Capital Markets, the parent company of the pioneering Javelin SEF (swap execution facility). As regulators and the industry laid the groundwork for SEFs, Cawley took on a very public role in helping shape the rules and regulations of over-the-counter derivatives trading reform. Most recently, he led a key… Read More >>
Banca Generali Signs Up for Bond Hosting Service
Italian banking group Banca Generali is among the first customers to use the hosted connectivity platform, Valdi Market Access, now with access to the fixed income market MTS BondVision, say SunGard Financial Systems officials. The vendor declines to mention the other customers of the expanded Valdi Market Access service. “Expanding our capabilities in the fixed… Read More >>
The Age of SEFs Stumbles Forward
It’s been just over a year since swap execution facilities (SEF) inauspiciously opened for business on Oct. 2, 2013 – “A day that I’ll never forget,” in the words of one SEF operator present at the SEFCON V conference on Wednesday. Panelists at the event, sponsored by the Wholesale Markets Brokers’ Association, highlighted how far… Read More >>
CFTC: Cooperation Key to Cross-Border Clearing Talks
Dual registration combined with cooperation is likely to be the ongoing theme as European and U.S. regulators address the cross-border harmonization problems for global clearing of over-the-counter derivatives, said Timothy Massad, chairman of the CFTC, said in his speech at a Futures Industry Association (FIA) conference last week. “We are continuing to work with the… Read More >>
FTF Panelists Applaud SEF Package Trade Rule Relief
Operations teams supporting derivatives trading at financial services firms across the nation breathed a collective sigh of relief Wednesday night, when CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad announced his agency will postpone rules that would force market participants to conduct package trades electronically via swap execution facilities (SEFs). Meanwhile, panelists at FTF’s DerivOps New York event on… Read More >>
Ex-Deriv/SERV CEO Joins Clarus Board
Clarus Financial Technology reports that Sandy Broderick, the former CEO of DTCC’s Deriv/SERV, has been named to its advisory board. Deriv/SERV is the DTCC subsidiary that provides automated repository and asset servicing for over-the-counter (OTC) credit derivatives trades. Broderick, a capital markets veteran, headed DTCC Deriv/SERV “through the rollout of its Global Trade Repository in… Read More >>