A key report finds that securities lending revenues surged last year and so did operational workloads, which makes the case for more automated reconciliation systems that process transactions in real-time, industry expert Roy Zimmerhansl tells FTF News. In 2023, the global securities finance industry set a record with $10.7 billion in revenue for lenders, according to… Read More >>
MSCI Buys Fabric to Build Wealth Management Platform
MSCI will be building a new wealth management platform by integrating its portfolio toolkit with the portfolio design, customization, and analytics offerings of Fabric — which serves wealth managers and advisors — as the result of their recently completed merger, officials say. Known for its investment decision support tools and services, MSCI announced the acquisition… Read More >>
Hedge Fund Groups Fight SEC’s Short-Selling Rules
The National Association of Private Fund Managers (NAPFM), the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), and the Managed Funds Association (MFA) have delivered a not-so-welcome holiday gift to the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) — a lawsuit. The trio of trade associations, represented by Jeff Wall and Judd Littleton of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, are calling on… Read More >>
Prometheum Dives Into Digital Asset Securities Custody
(Prometheum Inc. will launch a digital asset securities custody platform during the first quarter of next year, according to officials at the firm. This follows recent approval by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the self-regulatory organization (SRO) for U.S. broker-dealers, to allow the firm to operate a special purpose broker-dealer (SPBD) that will offer custody for… Read More >>
Cyber Threats Seen as a Major Risk for 2024
Securities firms are foreseeing cybersecurity risks as one of their top concerns for next year as cybers-attacks remain one of their top five risks as revealed in an annual Systemic Risk Barometer Survey done by DTCC officials. Cybersecurity concerns constitute one of the top five risks identified in every survey since 2013 when the DTCC… Read More >>
FinTech Brief: BMLL Expands Data Coverage in Canada
BMLL, an independent provider of Level 3 data and analytics, is expanding its data coverage to include more Canadian exchanges, which will operators to better analyze venue performance and liquidity dynamics against local and global peers, officials say. The expansion means that Level 3 data is now available from all major Canadian trading venues and… Read More >>
T+1 Testing: Concerns Emerge Amid Progress
In the sprint toward the T+1 transition to shorter settlement in May 2024, the official line from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) is that testing is proceeding smoothly. Behind the scenes, there are concerns regarding end-to-end testing, buy-side participation, and a dearth of operational testing. Val Wotton, managing director and general manager of… Read More >>
CFTC, IOSCO & Nasdaq Push Voluntary Carbon Trading Advances
The voluntary carbon credit (VCC) trading markets are still in their early days and face many operational challenges such as a reliance on too many manual steps, data collection difficulties, a high rate of bilateral transactions, and disparate technology choices when it comes to the trading and settlement of VCCs. However, over the past week,… Read More >>
FinTech Brief: CAIS Expands Collaboration with Pershing
CAIS, an alternative investment platform for independent financial advisors, has expanded its relationship with the Pershing clearing, custody, and wealth management services division of BNY Mellon. The expansion was announced late last month “after the launch of CAIS Solutions, a new SaaS [Software as a Service] platform,” which applies CAIS technology to centralize and streamline… Read More >>
A Climate Data Platform Prototype Debuts at COP28
Inadvertently, I have stumbled upon another climate-related bit of news. This time it’s about the Net-Zero Data Public Utility (NZDPU), described as “a unified, global, open climate data repository” whose information can be used by many sectors including financial services. A variety of securities firms would welcome free, reliable data about the climate change efforts… Read More >>