Financial technology vendor Cobalt DL has kick started the beta testing on its distributed ledger network, which it hopes will streamline post-trade processes and create a singular database for foreign-exchange (FX) transactions. Spearheaded by former Citi and Deutsche Bank executive Andy Coyne, the platform, which is backed by eight of the world’s largest players in… Read More >>
IBM, Singapore to Build R&D Hub for Blockchain
IBM is throwing more weight behind distributed ledger technology (DLT) with the news that the IT systems and software giant plans to launch the first IBM Center for Blockchain Innovation in Singapore via a collaboration with governmental authorities. IBM’s efforts are in line with expectations that securities trading firms and financial technology vendors are likely… Read More >>
Wall Street to Spend $1B on Blockchain/DLT Projects
Securities trading firms and financial technology vendors are likely to spend $1 billion or more exploring blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT), underscoring how important they think the DLT push has become. “Financial service firms and technology providers around the world will spend more than $1 billion in 2016 in the race to bring blockchain to capital… Read More >>
CME May Spur Bidding War for the LSE
There is a sense of déjà vu in the air with talk of a $28 billion merger between Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). The two have been circling around each other for years but as in the past, rival exchanges may try and break the bond. This time around the Intercontinental… Read More >>
Buy Side Still Values Human Talent Over IT
While the need for the right technology is important for optimizing fixed income trading, it appears that the human touch still carries the day for buy-side firms as the bulk of their “increased spending in fixed income went to trader compensation,” according to a new report from market research firm Greenwich Associates. The new emphasis… Read More >>
Barclays to Transfer Legacy Derivatives to JPMorgan
Barclays Bank (Barclays) has signed an agreement with JPMorgan to divest its legacy derivatives portfolio as part of its non-core rundown strategy — a possible sign that other banks may start to move assets around in order to adjust to the increasingly burdensome regulatory demands for capital requirements. Barclays officials say that “acting through Barclays… Read More >>
European Firms Dump Derivatives for Easier ETFs
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are gathering momentum among European institutional investors due to lower fees, ease of use and operational simplicity compared to derivatives. In fact, firms are increasingly using ETFs instead of derivatives and as a tool for diversification and rebalancing portfolios, according to a new report ETFs in the European Institutional Channel, from… Read More >>
Ops Gets on the Blockchain Revolution Bus
Bitcoin, a so-called crypto-currency, may fade before anyone really understands what it was or how it could actually have prevailed in financial services. However, out of Bitcoin’s ashes has risen the humbly named Blockchain technology. The distributed ledger technology that has been propping up Bitcoin has come to the attention of major industry players. This… Read More >>
Investors Still Like Sell-Side Salespeople
An interesting report on how investors still rely on sell-side advice and interactions even while swap trading is moving quickly to electronic platforms slipped past me, but it’s worthy of belated notice. The report (issued late last month) from Greenwich Associates, “Interest-Rate Derivatives Sales: Not What It Used To Be, But No Less Important,”… Read More >>
How Real is Blockchain for You and Your Firm?
(Editor’s note: Almost like a secondary player upstaging the star, the Blockchain technology underpinning the crypto-currency Bitcoin has taken on a life of its own even if people in financial services have no clue about what it is. Simply put, the Blockchain is a public ledger that has been used to keep track of Bitcoin… Read More >>
