(FTF News recently got time with Robert Walley, principal, financial services at consultancy Deloitte, to discuss the securities industry’s move to a shorter settlement cycle of trading day plus another day, a.k.a. T+1, which is underway in North America. Walley leads Deloitte’s capital markets and global financial markets industry sectors. He helps clients with transformations… Read More >>
T+1 Could Expose Ops Woes for Many Firms
The pain, suffering, and costs of doing business in the global securities industry are likely to increase as a result of the push for shorter settlement cycles, which is underway in the U.S. and Canada as firms there transition to trading day plus one, a.k.a. T+1. That was one of the unvarnished takeaways from a… Read More >>
SIFMA Criticizes SEC’s Rulemaking Under Gensler
SEC Chair Gary Gensler has recently come under fire for the 63 new rules that have been proposed during his time at the helm. One of the most prominent voices in the U.S. securities industry Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., president and CEO of SIFMA, is taking on Gensler and is offering data to back up… Read More >>
SEC Proposes IT Amendments for EDGAR
Fall is in the air. And that means big new movies and TV shows (despite the strikes by Hollywood writers and actors). This year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has gotten into the spirit of the season with a proposal to amend EDGAR. EDGAR, as we all know, is shorthand for the Electronic… Read More >>
Bittrex Resolves SEC’s Charges for $24M
Crypto asset trading platform Bittrex Inc. and its co-founder and former CEO, William Shihara, have settled with the SEC and will pay $24 million in disgorgement, interest, and penalties over allegations that the platform was functioning as an unregistered national exchange, broker, and clearing agency although the defendants neither admit nor deny the SEC’s allegations…. Read More >>
Wedbush Pays $16M to Resolve Recordkeeping Problems
Accusations don’t equal proof of guilt. Lawyers for a certain much-indicted ex-president will tell you that. However, multiple accusations by credible accusers aren’t a particularly good look, whether for a politician or a registered futures commission merchant. Which brings us to Wedbush Securities. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently ordered Los Angeles-based Wedbush Securities… Read More >>
SEC Wants to Rein In Predictive Analytics
The SEC has approved a proposal that attempts to control firms’ usage of predictive data analytics and it has opened a new rift as key commissioners say the regulator is overreaching and preventing investors from benefitting from new technology all in the name of preventing firms from putting their interests first. The new rules under consideration, which… Read More >>
SEC to Broker-Dealers: Tighten Up AML Controls
Do the SEC and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) need to tighten up anti-money-laundering (AML) and countering-the-financing-of-terrorism (CFT) requirements? You don’t need to know the lyrics to “Tighten Up,” by Houston’s Archie Bell & the Drells, to puzzle out the answer. It does. The SEC’s Division of Examinations (a.k.a. EXAMS) oversees broker-dealers and… Read More >>
SEC Revamps Rules for Money Market Fund Liquidity
The SEC is changing key rules governing how money market funds are handled during times of market stress and is imposing increases in minimum liquidity requirements to “provide a more substantial buffer” amid rapid redemptions, according to the regulator. However, as the 3-2 vote of the commissioners reflects there is controversy over these amendments of… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch Pays $12M to Resolve SAR Charges
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. and its parent company BAC North America Holding Co. (BACNAH) have settled with the SEC and FINRA over charges that the broker-dealer failed to file approximately 1,500 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from 2009 to late 2019, resulting in penalties and fines totaling $12 million. The SAR shortcomings came… Read More >>
