ESG-based investing efforts and their related operational adjustments are getting real for many securities firms. And the ESG push is beginning to blur many lines that many never questioned before. For those who have not been following ESG too closely, the Investopedia website offers a succinct definition: “Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a… Read More >>
Yellen Urges a Cautious Approach to CBDCs
The concept of digital currencies run by central banks is counter to the chaos-driven cryptocurrency movement. But central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are now seen in a very favorable light because of the protections and order they could bring to the crypto world. Even so, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen earlier this month… Read More >>
Average Wall Street Bonuses Hit $257,500
Bonus season on Wall Street is here and it could be quite lucrative for some. For achievements in 2021, bonuses for staff at actual Wall Street firms grew by 20 percent over bonuses for 2020, according to the New York State Comptroller’s office. “The average bonus paid to employees in New York City’s securities industry… Read More >>
BNP Paribas to Add 1,000 More Women in IT
On International Women’s Rights Day, March 8, a banking giant made a surprising announcement, and challenged itself to do better: “The BNP Paribas Group has set itself an ambitious target: to have 1,000 more women in our IT professions by the end of 2024, through both internal and external recruitment.” While the Women’s Rights Day… Read More >>
FINRA Alleges DriveWealth Broke Regulation SHO Rules
FINRA, the self-regulatory organization for broker-dealers, has censured and fined DriveWealth Institutional LLC, formerly known as Cuttone & Co., $100,000 for alleged violations of Regulation SHO rules. Last February, DriveWealth Holdings, Inc. acquired Cuttone & Co. and renamed it to DriveWealth Institutional. The renamed firm “specializes in execution services for institutional and broker-dealer clients. The… Read More >>
Exploring Lifestyle Gadgets at CES 2022
As promised, I am offering another quick view into the wide, wide world of electronic gadgets that could quickly eat up your bonus and tax returns. For this blog posting, I have scanned consumer items featured at the CES 2022 conference in Las Vegas, which included Pepcom’s Digital Experience! event for journalists. It’s hard to find a… Read More >>
BNY Mellon Buys Optimal’s Indexing for ‘Pershing X’
Other BNY Mellon Units to Get Direct Indexing Too The Pershing clearing and custody services business of BNY Mellon is acquiring Optimal Asset Management, a direct indexing solutions provider, and will offer Optimal’s capabilities to advisory clients within Pershing, and to institutional and retail clients within BNY Mellon’s Investment Management business. If the acquisition… Read More >>
CFTC Focuses on SOFR for Interdealer Brokers
Just in case you were wondering, the CFTC is doing its part for interdealer brokers transitioning from the ill-fated Libor reference rate to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for U.S. Dollar (USD) non-linear derivatives, which are instruments whose rewards are not set in stone like swaps, futures, and forwards. In fact, the regulator has… Read More >>
SEC Bars Two People from Whistleblower Program
I should not have been surprised to learn that the SEC can bar people from becoming whistleblowers. In an unusual press release, the regulator, which in these cases, cannot name names, has “barred two individuals from the SEC’s whistleblower award program, each of whom filed hundreds of frivolous award applications.” It appears that the regulator’s… Read More >>
Why StatPro Agreed to the Confluence Takeover
StatPro’s board of directors announced late last week that it had agreed to a takeover offer from Confluence via Bidco in an all-cash agreement of approximately £161.1 million ($201.3 million). The deal will take the company private — apparently in an effort to give customers fuller product platforms via a combined company. To recap, StatPro… Read More >>
