The SEC’s recent 3-2 vote to undo key provisions of a Trump-era rule governing proxy advisory firms has fanned the flames of controversy even though the stated goal was to bolster the independence and timeliness of these providers’ offerings. In fact, a major proxy-advice vendor, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), wanted the SEC to rescind the… Read More >>
BNY & Goldman Sachs Test Drive DLT & Other News
BNY & Goldman Sachs Pioneer DLT-Based Securities Financing BNY Mellon and Goldman Sachs have “completed the industry’s first agency securities lending transactions” via the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform of HQLAᵡ , a financial technology vendor focused on securities finance and repo transactions. “As part of the combined series of 35-day term transactions with a… Read More >>
Should Risk & Resilience for Ops Be One?
Should the securities operations industry rethink the gap between operational resilience and operational risk? Should those working in operations bring the two disciplines closer together, and by doing so, develop a stronger architecture for securities operations? Those are the questions that Guy Warren, CEO at ITRS Group, is pondering and he wants you to ponder… Read More >>
Schroders Embraces Blockchain & Other News Briefs
Schroders Takes Minority Stake in Forteus Invesment management giant Schroders is investing in Forteus, an asset manager with a focus on blockchain technology and digital assets. Schroders officials say that they will develop next-generation investment solutions via the new arrangement. Forteus is the asset management arm of the Numeus Group, a diversified digital asset… Read More >>
CAT Overseers Shift Key Deadline for Broker-Dealers
A new deadline has been set for a key aspect of the ambitious, big data, securities transaction monitoring project known as the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). The new deadline is intended to help broker-dealers grappling with the inclusion of information about customer accounts, and the deadline extension will give CAT participants more time to deal… Read More >>
SocGen Joins Broadridge’s Repo Platform & Other News
Société Générale Supports Repos via DLT French banking giant Société Générale reports that it is now “live on the distributed ledger technology repo platform” created by vendor Broadridge Financial Solutions. The platform “accelerates the digitization of the global repo market, empowering participants to realize immediate benefits of reduced risk and operational costs and enhanced… Read More >>
JPMorgan Pays $850K to Resolve FX Swaps Case
JPMorgan has reached a $850,000 settlement with the CFTC in a case involving charges that three of the investment bank’s units failed to comply with their reporting obligations as swap dealers. The CFTC order also requires JPMorgan and its swap-dealing entities to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and… Read More >>
RA Capital Picks Xenomorph & Other News Briefs
Xenomorph to Support Key Groups at RA Capital Boston-based investment manager RA Capital has selected data management solutions vendor Xenomorph to provide enterprise data management (EDM) support for the firm’s bio-tech and financial data needs, officials say. “We were diligent in the selection of RA Capital’s data platform. We wanted more than a standard security… Read More >>
Interactive Brokers Settles Exchange Fees Case for $1M
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission reports that it has settled charges against Interactive Brokers LLC, a registered futures commission merchant, for “failing to diligently supervise its employees’ handling of exchange fees charged to customers.” The commission’s order calls for Interactive Brokers to “cease and desist from violating the CFTC regulation addressing supervision, pay $710,828.14 in… Read More >>
EY Penalized $100M via SEC’s Exam Cheating Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged auditor Ernst & Young LLP with “cheating by its audit professionals on exams required to obtain and maintain Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licenses, and for withholding evidence of this misconduct from the SEC’s Enforcement Division during the Division’s investigation of the matter.” Ernst & Young (EY) “admits the… Read More >>
