The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recently issued amendments to its draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTSs) under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Regulation (MiFIR) that should give firms, especially those that trade less frequently, more breathing room. “The amendments are designed to respond to the legitimate concerns of the European… Read More >>
Brexit Could Put U.K. Clearinghouses in Limbo
The Brexit wars are heating up in the U.K. as the European Referendum draws closer but it is still too early to call the outcome. In the meantime, President Obama lent support to the remain or stay-in campaign during his recent visit to the U.K. But the leave party is doing its level best to… Read More >>
Omgeo Alert Settlement Utility Hits Milestone
Omgeo Alert, an online global database of account information and standing settlement instructions (SSIs), has hit a milestone with more than six million settlement instructions — a major step forward in its push to become the dominant SSI utility, say officials of the post-trade market infrastructure services provider the DTCC, which owns Omgeo. SSIs hold… Read More >>
CloudMargin Sharpens Collateral Optimization Capabilities
CloudMargin, a provider of web-based collateral and margin management services, reports that it has improved its collateral optimization capabilities to better serve the clearing needs of securities firms. The enhanced optimization combines CloudMargin’s capabilities to source inventory “on a client’s behalf direct from custodians via CloudMargin’s own SWIFT membership,” vendor officials say. Cloud-based collateral management… Read More >>
ESMA Fines DTCC for Trade Repository Shortcomings
Post-trade infrastructure services provider DTCC has been fined nearly $73,000 by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for alleged failures to properly offer “direct and immediate access to derivatives trading data” for nine months in 2014. The regulator’s fine of €64,000 (equivalent to 72,907.15 given a 1 EUR = 1.13917 USD rate) is the… Read More >>
NICE Actimize System Offers Cross-Asset Surveillance
Risk and compliance vendor NICE Actimize has launched a “compliance-as-a-service” cloud-based offering that promises to provide surveillance capabilities across multiple asset classes. The new Actimize Cross-Asset Cloud Markets Surveillance solution will also offer case management capabilities to help financial services firms formulate their enterprise-wide scans for risk, vendor officials say. “Cross asset is extremely important… Read More >>
FIX Group Backs ISO OTC Identifier Effort
The FIX Trading Community is throwing its support behind a standards-creation effort that would assign identifiers to over-the-counter (OTC) derivative instruments as mandated by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive/Regulation (MiFID II) requirements. The non-profit body behind the FIX electronic trading protocol is sponsoring a study group of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that… Read More >>
BAE Profiles ‘World’s Most Dangerous Cybercriminals’
Six Types of Cybercriminal to Avoid BAE Systems, the London-based, multinational security company, recently released profiles of “six prominent types of cybercriminals” and detailed how they could hurt companies around the globe, officials say. Threat intelligence experts at BAE Systems have compiled a list, “The Unusual Suspects,” that has been created from “research that uncovers… Read More >>
Commerzbank Signs On for Hosted Margining
A German firm, Commerzbank, is the first sell-side institution to use OpenGamma’s new, hosted margining service as the bank grapples with the rise in demand for pre-trade margin comparison requests, bank officials say. The hosted OpenGamma for Margining “comes at a time when Category 2 market participants are just two months away from joining Category… Read More >>
AcadiaSoft Unveils Central Margining Hub for Derivatives
Norwell, Mass.-based AcadiaSoft, Inc. reports that it has begun industry testing of its Collateral Hub, which it characterizes as the “first ever Central Margining service for non-cleared OTC [over-the-counter] derivatives.” Twenty-eight major banks are participating in the test of the electronic-margin-management system, AcadiaSoft says, noting that its “new service will facilitate industry compliance with impending… Read More >>
