As expected, the SEC has voted to propose new derivatives rules that would limit leverage and other risks for mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other registered investment companies in the derivatives markets. After a 90-day comment period, the commission is likely to move forward on the new rules. New rules are needed, the commission… Read More >>
Swaps Clearing in Europe Catching Up to U.S. Rules
The European Union has set the date for its clearing obligation, bringing European financial reform more into line with current U.S. obligations. The publication of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) regulatory technical standards (RTS) in the Official Journal of the European Union on December 1, 2015 will kick over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives clearing into… Read More >>
Virtus Settles AlphaSector Case with the SEC for $16.5M
Investment management firm Virtus Investment Advisers is paying a total of $16.5 million to settle a case with the SEC, which alleges that the firm misled mutual fund investors among others via advertisements that allegedly reported false historical performance data about AlphaSector, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) portfolio strategy. The charges against the Hartford, Conn.-based firm… Read More >>
FSB’s Capital Requirements Target ‘Too Big to Fail’
The Financial Stability Board (FSB), the six-year-old international body created in response to the Great Recession, has issued requirements intended to keep “systemically important” banks solvent particularly during crisis in an effort to prevent firms that are “too big to fail” and have to be bailed out via government funds. The financial requirements for banks… Read More >>
The Fed’s Trick-or-Treat on Too Big to Fail
Although Halloween has just passed, the U.S. Federal Reserve this past Friday officially proposed a new rule that would in theory prevent big domestic and foreign banks operating in the United States from relying on “extraordinary government support or taxpayer assistance.” In other words, the Fed is taking on firms that are “Too Big to… Read More >>
Barclays Hopes New CEO Will Jolt IB Efforts
Ending much media speculation, Barclays officials announced that the bank has named industry veteran James E. Staley to be its new top executive, signaling the start of a new era for a firm shaken by legal battles with government authorities and regulators, sudden executive shuffles and layoffs. Staley has been appointed as Group CEO of… Read More >>
SEC Enforcement Actions Jump 7 Percent in 2015
The SEC’s Enforcement Division reports that it had a seven percent increase in cases for fiscal year 2015 over the previous year and is breaking ground in several facets of the securities industry because of data and quantitative analytics and the help of the regulator’s other divisions. “The Enforcement Division’s leveraging of data, quantitative analytics… Read More >>
CLS, TriOptima Team Up for FX Compression Service
CLS Group (CLS), a specialist settlement bank for the global foreign exchange (FX) market, and TriOptima, a vendor focusing on over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives post-trade services, are behind the launch of the triReduce CLS Forward FX Compression Service that combines the CLS infrastructure with TriOptima’s compression offering, officials say. Compression is the practice of canceling out… Read More >>
Obama Announces Nominees for SEC Commissioners
The SEC may have a full slate of commissioners by the end of the year as the Obama administration has put forth two nominees — one to fill a current vacancy and another to step in for Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar, who completed his term this year. Aguilar has been serving since 2008 when he… Read More >>
The SEC’s ‘Broken Windows’ Policy
Given some of the recent actions by the SEC, it’s reasonable to ask if the regulator may be enforcing a kind of “broken windows policing” effort. When put into practice, the broken windows theory as applied to non-Wall Street crime by police officers involves acting upon “small crimes such as vandalism, public drinking, and toll-jumping,”… Read More >>
