The SEC is denying media reports that Dan Berkovitz, general counsel for the regulator, is leaving his post as a result of a meeting he had with controversial crypto exchange FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried (SBF) when Berkovitz was a CFTC commissioner. Late last month, as the FTX scandal grew, Bankman-Fried’s past donations to politicians and… Read More >>
BNY Mellon & Baton Bring DLT to Collateral & Other News
BNY Mellon & Baton Systems Form Partnership Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is at the heart of a new post-trade, collateral management collaboration between BNY Mellon and Baton Systems. The joint offering links Baton’s central clearing counterparty (CCP) network with BNY Mellon’s Enterprise Continuous Portfolio Optimization (ECPO) service in an effort to help mutual clients improve… Read More >>
Insurers to Ramp Up Investment Management IT: Survey
Asset and liability management, compliance, and market data top global insurers’ lists of planned technology investments, according to a new BlackRock survey. In fact, insurers plan to speed up digital transformation over the next 12 to 24 months as they wrestle with rapidly changing markets, according to the survey. Sixty-five percent of insurers surveyed see… Read More >>
24 States Forbid ESG Investing via Public Pension Funds
A major Republican backlash is underway in at least 24 U.S. states against public pension fund managers making investment decisions based upon environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns and principles. Those leading the backlash say that when the ESG filter is applied to investment decisions, it leads to portfolio losses, which harm pensioners. Non-ESG investments… Read More >>
Prime Trading Taps Iress to Cut Data Latency
Proprietary trading firm Prime Trading has implemented solutions from Iress — formerly QuantHouse — to access key data feeds and transaction support services via application programming interface (API) links that boost data quality, cut data latency, and bring down costs, officials say. “Previously, during peak moments of high market volatility, Prime Trading experienced data latency… Read More >>
Cooperation Helps Firms Beat Financial Crime: Report
Sometimes financial crime is as local as your neighborhood shyster promising crypto riches to gullible kids or unsophisticated old folks. That can be a tragedy for the people who are conned. Other times, though, financial crime is international, requiring cooperation between nation-states or between private financial organizations and public agencies. And international financial crime can… Read More >>
Why Post-Trade Data Is Key to Digitization
(Firms engaged in securities trading are being pressured to undergo a digital transformation as soon as possible. It’s no surprise then that some firms are contemplating a big bang overhaul. But that would not be in a firm’s best interest, says Justin Llewellyn-Jones, head of capital markets, North America (equities and derivatives), Broadridge Financial Solutions…. Read More >>
UBS Broker & SEC Settle Complex Case for $25M
UBS Financial Services has agreed to pay a total of $25 million to the SEC to resolve charges that it allegedly failed to give its financial advisors adequate training or supervisory oversight in support of a complex options trading effort, the Yield Enhancement Strategy (YES), that caused surprise losses for investors. SEC officials say that… Read More >>
Germany’s LPA Plans U.S. Expansion & Other News
Germany’s LPA Plans U.S. Expansion LPA, the capital markets technology and advisory firm headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, with offices in a dozen cities around the world, reports a United States expansion plan. The plan calls for a new office in New York City and the appointment of Serge Malka as the firm’s U.S…. Read More >>
Should Buy-Side IT Teams Embrace Open Source?
(FTF News recently reached out to Madeleine Dassule, partner and co-head, technology, at Wellington Management. Dassule has joined the Fintech Open Source Foundation (FINOS) board of directors, a move that coincided with Wellington joining the nonprofit organization. FINOS is a proponent of open source technology, open standards, and collaborative efforts among software development groups in… Read More >>
