Banks must avoid complacency in meeting the Dec. 31, 2021 deadline for transitioning from the ill-fated London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) because failing to do so could cause problems with operations, safety, and soundness. In addition, banks should not be hoping for a “synthetic or zombie” Libor version that… Read More >>
CFTC Focuses on SOFR for Interdealer Brokers
Just in case you were wondering, the CFTC is doing its part for interdealer brokers transitioning from the ill-fated Libor reference rate to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for U.S. Dollar (USD) non-linear derivatives, which are instruments whose rewards are not set in stone like swaps, futures, and forwards. In fact, the regulator has… Read More >>
CFTC Fines Citi in Second Swaps Reporting Case
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission has settled charges against Citibank, N.A. and Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. — two provisionally registered swap dealers, aka Citi — for allegedly “failing to comply with certain swap dealer requirements,” and for related charges of supervision failures. Specifically, the CFTC charged that those two Citi units did not… Read More >>
Trading Glitch Spurs CFTC Fine for Interactive Brokers
An electronic trading system that was not ready to receive negative crude oil futures prices and to calculate margin upon them serves as the basis for the CFTC’s recently settled case against Interactive Brokers in its role as a registered futures commission merchant (FCM). The CFTC is alleging that Interactive Brokers failed to prepare its… Read More >>
CFTC Cracks Down on Swaps Data Noncompliance
The CFTC is cracking down on the alleged failures of supervisory systems and other controls that swap dealers and other swap industry participants have set up to be compliant. In particular, the regulator has just announced enforcement actions against Société Générale S.A., Mizuho Capital Markets, and the Refinitiv SEF, among others. “Swap dealer registrants must… Read More >>
CME-IHS Joint Venture Targets OTC Ops Woes
Following an announcement this past January, CME Group and IHS Markit have formally launched a joint venture, dubbed OSTTRA, that will encompass offerings intended to ease the post-trade operational challenges of over-the-counter (OTC) transaction processing for interest rate, foreign exchange (FX), equity, and credit asset classes. CME Group and IHS Markit each own half of… Read More >>
TriOptima Launches Tri-Party Links via SWIFT
Four Tri-Party Agents Endorse New Connection TriOptima reports that its triResolve Margin offering now provides integration via the SWIFT financial services messaging and systems cooperative to four tri-party agents: BNY Mellon, Clearstream, Euroclear, and JPMorgan. “TriOptima’s clients will have direct connectivity to tri-parties via SWIFT for sending instructions as well as receiving status messages and… Read More >>
Crypto Regs Are on SEC Chair’s Radar
SEC Chair Gary Gensler says that the regulator must consider ways to protect investors vulnerable to the “Wild West” of cryptocurrencies, the trading and custody for crypto-based instruments, and the tokenization bandwagon. In remarks at the Aspen Security Forum on Aug. 3, Gensler noted that “the crypto asset class has ballooned. As of Monday [Aug…. Read More >>
EC Blesses IHS Markit-CME Joint Venture
Proposed J.V. Seen as Complementary CME Group, an operator of derivatives trading venues, and IHS Markit, an information and analytics vendor, have gotten the blessings of the European Commission for their joint venture of post-trade services. “The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control over a newly created… Read More >>
DTCC Repository Fined for Alleged Data Breaches
The London-based DTCC Derivatives Repository Plc (DDRL), a suite of post-trade, record-keeping, and reporting services, has been fined by E.U. regulator European Securities and Markets Authority for seven alleged infringements of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation legislation governing data confidentiality, data integrity, and direct and immediate data access. The total fine is €408,000, or approximately… Read More >>
