In what is turning out to be a pattern, President Donald Trump chose to issue major directives on a Friday, and in this case, he signed documents intended to repeal key areas of regulation of the financial services industry. The president hinted at what was to come later on Friday, Feb. 3, during remarks for… Read More >>
FINRA Faces a Challenge to Its Authority
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is facing a legal challenge on the range of its authority as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) by a securities firm that it is trying to stop enforcement proceedings against it. Scottsdale Capital Advisors, the broker-dealer in question, describes itself as “a husband and wife team” led by John and… Read More >>
Fed Wants New Credit Limits on Top Tier Firms
Global systemically important banks (G-SIBs), of the kind whose imprudent derivatives loan policies shook the global economy, will have their credit exposure restricted under a proposed new Federal Reserve Board single-counterparty-credit-limit rule. “In the financial crisis, we learned that the largest and most complex banks and financial institutions lent or promised to pay large amounts… Read More >>
MiFID II: All Trading Calls Must Be Recorded
(Editor’s Note: One of the more underreported aspects of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive/Regulation (MiFID II) is the voice recording requirements. Greg Kenepp, president of Cloud9 Technologies, a cloud communications service provider, has been focused on these forthcoming requirements, which are likely to turn out to be more challenging than most operations professionals think…. Read More >>
News Analysis: Bernie Sanders’ Wall Street Reforms Lack Specifics
On the campaign trail for the Democratic presidential nomination, candidate Bernie Sanders has been hammering away at Wall Street and its impact upon the economy, calling for the return of the Glass-Steagall Act, the breakup of large banks, and other reforms that he says go further than the Dodd-Frank Act. However, the proposed changes from… Read More >>
Swaps Clearing in Europe Catching Up to U.S. Rules
The European Union has set the date for its clearing obligation, bringing European financial reform more into line with current U.S. obligations. The publication of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) regulatory technical standards (RTS) in the Official Journal of the European Union on December 1, 2015 will kick over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives clearing into… Read More >>
Can Banks Really Create a Culture of Compliance?
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) recent decision to fine Barclays a record £72 million ($108.3 million) for the alleged poor handling of financial crime risks will likely serve to reinforce the public perception of greedy bankers. But have financial institutions made any progress in developing a more positive culture in the new regulatory era of… Read More >>
FIX May Get New Timestamps for MiFID II Compliance
The FIX Protocol for electronic trading may soon support higher timestamp resolution to help market participants comply with the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) for Europe, according to the governing body behind the Financial Information eXchange (FIX) standard. Implementing MiFID II will involve many IT challenges for industry participants, says Kathleen Traynor,… Read More >>
CFTC Targets the Op Risk of High-Speed Trading
The CFTC last week unanimously proposed new rules to cut risks related to high-speed trading via the algorithms used by designated contract markets (DCMs). Some analysts say the rules will give the regulator more tools to deal with this key aspect of derivatives trading. However, others caution that the regulator should not put forth rules… Read More >>
Should Glass-Steagall Be Revived to Stop ‘Too Big to Fail?’
(Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part series on whether in the wake of the repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1932 there are financial institutions that have become “too big to fail” because they have essentially bet too much of the firm’s money on highly risky capital markets. The recent turmoil… Read More >>
