Cybersecurity is definitely (and finally) on the radar of executives and boardrooms of securities trading firms, and financial chief information security officers (CISOs) should make the most of their greater influence upon the top decision-makers, according to the first cybersecurity trends survey that the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) conducted upon its… Read More >>
Ready for CCAR & Stress Test Season?
Just in case you forgot, we are entering Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) and Dodd-Frank Act stress test season. Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve Board released scenarios for the 2018 CCAR and Dodd-Frank Act stress test exercises and has published instructions for firms that face CCAR compliance. In particular, the CCAR process covers… Read More >>
Cybersecurity Comes to the FIX Protocol
The FIX Trading Community, the standards body behind the Financial Information eXchange electronic trading protocol, is taking on cybersecurity via the release of the FIX-over- the Transport Layer Security (TLS) (FIXS) standard and guidelines. The effort is to help users of the FIX Protocol meet security requirements “as it introduces a basic level of security… Read More >>
The Regulators Didn’t Really Shut Down
The federal government shutdown lasted only three days but it looks as if the regulators for the securities industry were pretty much on the job whether or not the legislative geniuses of Washington, D.C. had reached an agreement. The SEC, for instance, has an operations plan, 18 pages long, that looks as if it was… Read More >>
Will the Buy Side Accept Disruptive Technologies?
The securities industry is at an interesting crossroads. It is facing some of the most exciting trends in IT in many years: artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, robotic process automation (RPA), the realities of Big Data and cloud computing, and the much hyped emergence of blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT). Even the mysteries and controversies… Read More >>
Helpful Resources for Your MiFID II Journey
The new era of MiFID II/MiFIR has officially begun and it’s not entirely clear if all the financial services firms across the globe that are impacted by the European regulatory reforms actually are in compliance. It looks as if it’s a mixed bag of some firms that are highly compliant while others are getting there…. Read More >>
LEIs Get a MiFID II Reprieve & Other Happy News!
In comparison to the gut-wrenching twists and turns of 2016, this year provided us with moments of healing, reflection and hope even though many events rocked the landscape for the securities industry. But, at certain points in 2017, rationality prevailed such as when on Dec. 20, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a… Read More >>
PIMCO and Bill Gross Sign Peace Accord
While I was hoping for more fireworks, the mutual fund giant Pacific Investment Management Company, a.k.a. PIMCO, quietly closed the William H. (Bill) Gross Departure chapter, which was the cause for a great deal of publicity and turmoil for Gross and the firm. To say the least, Gross and the firm he helped found have… Read More >>
What If Blockchain/DLT Lives Up to the Hype?
As this year gathers steam, the many blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) projects out there are beginning to yield results. We have just reported on Northern Trust and its efforts with IBM http://bit.ly/2lSPlrw and I’m sure there are many more to come. One of the more intriguing DLT projects is the joint effort between the old… Read More >>
Revisit 2016 via the Top Stories of FTF News
Across the globe, the year 2016 ran the gamut from exhilarating to downright heartbreaking for many people on many, many fronts. For the executives, managers and great foot-soldiers of securities operations, it was a surprisingly eventful year that again underscored the importance of middle- and back-office people, systems and strategies. The year was full of… Read More >>
