Gary Gensler, the new chair of the SEC, is provisionally endorsing the industry effort to shorten trade settlement time from T+2 to T+1 as evidenced by his recent testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, overseen by Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA). “I believe shortening the standard settlement cycle could reduce costs and risks… Read More >>
New SEC Enforcement Director Abruptly Resigns
Just one week after she was appointed, Alex Oh has resigned her position as the director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement. Oh cited ”personal reasons,” according to a commission statement. However, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other media report that the abrupt resignation was prompted by the… Read More >>
Whistleblowers in SEC Case Collect $50 Million
Would-be financial criminals beware: “joint whistleblowers,” whose identities have not been revealed, just scored a payday of “over $50 million.” That’s a big incentive to say something if you know something. The whistleblowers who collected the $50 million reported violations of financial-crime rules to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Those violations involved “highly… Read More >>
Gensler’s SEC Will Face ESG, Crypto & Investor Woes
By a vote of 53 to 45, Gary Gensler, a former CFTC chairman, won confirmation by the U.S. Senate to become the next chair of the SEC, ushering in what many expect will be a new era of regulation requiring adherence to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reforms. The Senate vote, which got the support… Read More >>
ICE’s Bitcoin Custody Firm Gets a BitLicense
NYSDFS Approves Bakkt Marketplace The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) has approved the application of Bakkt Marketplace, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bakkt Holdings, LLC, for virtual currency and money transmitter licenses, Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell reports. The licenses will allow Bakkt Marketplace, a digital currency trading platform,… Read More >>
NYDFS Issues Cyber Alert About Microsoft Exchange
Hackers Are Exploiting Microsoft Exchange Weaknesses Following media reports of cybersecurity vulnerabilities via the popular Microsoft Exchange Server, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued a letter to the financial services industry that “urges all regulated entities with vulnerable Microsoft Exchange services to act immediately.” The letter from the Cybersecurity… Read More >>
Gensler’s SEC Chair Nomination Advances Amid GOP Pushback
Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s nominee for SEC chairman, last week won the approval of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 14 in favor to 10 against, signaling some resistance among Republicans as his nomination moves to a full vote before the U.S. Senate. If approved by the Senate, Gensler and the… Read More >>
SEC to Patrol for ESG & Climate Change Sins
Climate change, a.k.a. global warming, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns are getting real for financial services firms, particularly those working in securities trading. This is also true for the regulators overseeing them such as the SEC. A case in point is our story this week about a $247 billion pension fund, the New… Read More >>
FTF News Launches Live Interviews
At FTF and FTF News, we have a history of trying new ways of providing you with compelling, relevant content about major trends, changes, and innovations in the securities operations industry. We hope you like what we are doing, and we appreciate your support for the news service, which launched 10 years ago! In keeping… Read More >>
NICE Actimize Targets All Trading Floor Communication
Much of the communication happening in securities and commodities trading rooms has to be recorded for regulatory compliance purposes, and NICE Actimize has launched a solution that captures traditional, unified, and mobile channels via a single, cloud-based platform. The vendor says that the new NTR-X extends the capabilities of the NICE Trading Recording (NTR) compliance… Read More >>
