SWIFT’s five-year, SWIFT2015 strategy to shrink its pricing for its messaging services has beat the cooperative’s expectations because of “strong” traffic growth, cost controls and pricing schemes, resulting in a 57 percent price reduction expected by the end of this year. Officials from the cooperative announced the strategy result at SWIFT’s annual Sibos gathering, underway… Read More >>
OptionScape Tools to Work with Thomson Reuters Eikon
OptionScape, maker of strategy modeling tools for exchange-traded options, is now offering a standalone software version that has full data integration with Thomson Reuters Eikon, officials from both companies say. Thomson Reuters Eikon offers real-time data, historical information, access to more than 400 exchanges and links to over-the-counter (OTC) venues. The new version of OptionScape… Read More >>
SS&C: Primatics Purchase to Help Clients Untangle Complex Loan Ops
Financial software and services vendor SS&C Technologies is acquiring Primatics Financial for approximately $122 million because of the surge in demand among SS&C clients for help with originating, buying, selling and securitizing loans, according to SS&C. SS&C announced on Monday that it will acquire Primatics via a cash and debt-free transaction with private equity giant… Read More >>
Bank of America Vet Joins Holley Holland
Bank of America (BofA) veteran Marty Rose has joined Holley Holland, the self-described “business transformation experts” to build the change management consultancy’s U.S. business, including opportunities in Charlotte, North Carolina, and throughout the region, officials say. Rose, who will be based in Charlotte, has left her post as chief operating office (COO) of the EST… Read More >>
ISDA: Regulatory Harmony Needed After Five Years of Dodd-Frank
Despite greater transparency and the reduction in counterparty risk via the Dodd-Frank Act, the next stage of reform for derivatives trading should be focused on regulatory regimes that “are consistent and harmonized across borders, and to ensure they support risk management that enables economic activity and growth,” say officials at the International Swaps and Derivatives… Read More >>
CFTC to Keep Using DTCC-SWIFT LEI Utility
Regulator CFTC has issued an order extending the designation of a utility operated by the DTCC and SWIFT as the provider of legal entity identifiers (LEIs) for the commission’s swap data recordkeeping and reporting rules, officials say. The DTCC-SWIFT utility — which had initially been referred to via the utility’s website and in educational and… Read More >>
Convergex Fills CFO Post
Convergex, an agency-focused brokerage and trading-related services provider, reports that Frederick Arnold has joined the firm as chief financial officer (CFO). Arnold will oversee all global financial operations and serve on the executive committee, responsible for providing organizational guidance and governance, Convergex officials say. Currently a director of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Corporate Capital… Read More >>
Kx Systems Appoints Global Market Strategist
Specialist database and time-series analytics vendor Kx Systems has appointed Mark Sykes as its global market strategist, officials say. In his new role Sykes will be focused on broadening “the application of the kdb+ database solution within financial services and into other markets,” according to a company statement. “I’ve worked closely with kdb+ over the… Read More >>
AIM Software Bolsters Sales Efforts in Europe, North America
AIM Software, an enterprise data management (EDM) solutions vendor, has appointed Ben Hopcroft to the post of director of sales for the U.K., The Netherlands and the Nordic Markets. The appointment follows shortly after the announcement that Marco Sablone, the former director of sales and marketing at Joss Technology, has joined the sales organization for… Read More >>
Hedgie CFOs Worry Over EU’s Push to Split Research, Commissions
As European authorities consider a “hard unbundling” of research payments from commissions, a majority of chief financial officers (CFOs) at hedge funds recently polled by execution broker and research provider ITG say they would prefer to segregate the accounts of their European clients and use commission sharing agreements (CSAs) for their non-European clients. ITG surveyed… Read More >>