A large bank is guilty of violating the United Kingdom’s money-laundering regulations. Says who? Says the bank itself. FTF News readers, who are familiar with all the ploys financial institutions employ to avoid saying they’ve done wrong (all that neither-confirming-nor-denying while paying up and agreeing to be censured), will know just how unusual that is…. Read More >>
DeepSee’s Mission: Unlock Trapped Data via A.I.
Trapped data has always been the bane of the back office, and the reason so much manual processing remains in middle- and back-office roles. “For DeepSee.ai, unlocking that data is the key to success as firms look to accelerate their move toward full-scale digital transformation,” says Steve Shillingford, CEO of DeepSee. “Much of the most… 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 >>
Will Crypto Yield Fool’s Gold & New Op Risks?
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are calling for some brakes to be put upon the mad rush to cryptocurrencies and digital assets because of the threats they might pose to the global financial infrastructure and the operational woes they could present. Michael Hsu, the acting… 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 >>
Northern Trust Uses Algorithms to Find Initial Margin
Northern Trust Develops Offering with Acadia With help from vendor Acadia, Northern Trust launched an automated solution for initial margin (IM) calculation that exploits algorithms to find assets that will help firms meet regulatory obligations, officials say. The solution was developed to help clients meet the September 1 deadline for compliance with the Uncleared Margin… Read More >>
SEC Bars Two People from Whistleblower Program
I should not have been surprised to learn that the SEC can bar people from becoming whistleblowers. In an unusual press release, the regulator, which in these cases, cannot name names, has “barred two individuals from the SEC’s whistleblower award program, each of whom filed hundreds of frivolous award applications.” It appears that the regulator’s… Read More >>
No Showstoppers for T+1 Overhaul: ISITC Panel
While no one would mistake the T+1 shorter settlement drama for a joyous Broadway musical, there are not likely to be any showstoppers as the securities industry transitions to a one-day settlement cycle after execution for U.S. equities. But there’s a lot of work ahead. So says a panel of experts assembled by ISITC for… Read More >>
State Street Adopts Hybrid Model & Closes NYC Offices
State Street to Exit Midtown Manhattan The Boston-based State Street will be closing its midtown Manhattan offices and embracing a hybrid working model in response to staff members that have been working remotely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a prepared statement from the custodian banking giant. “Like most other companies, we… Read More >>
Robo Adviser Settles Conflicts of Interest Case
San Francisco-based robo adviser SoFi Wealth, LLC stands accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of “breaches of fiduciary duty” regarding approximately 20,000 exchange-traded-funds (ETF) customers. In the customary formulation, the advisory firm neither admits nor denies the SEC charges. However, it is paying the $300,000 penalty. And it has agreed to be censured and… Read More >>