In other news, Glue42 & Broadridge collaborate, BNP Paribas invests in AccessFintech & BidX expands in APAC.
The Fed, FDIC & OCC Want More Crypto Controls
Key U.S. regulatory agencies for financial services are creating processes that will require banking organizations to “engage in robust supervisory discussions” about proposed and current crypto-asset-related activities, according to a recently issued joint statement on risky crypto-assets.
“By ‘crypto-asset,’ the agencies refer generally to any digital asset implemented using cryptographic techniques,” according to the joint statement from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
“The events of the past year have been marked by significant volatility and the exposure of vulnerabilities in the crypto-asset sector. These events highlight a number of key risks associated with crypto-assets and crypto-asset sector participants that banking organizations should be aware of,” according to the statement.
One of the major risks is that the crypto risks and the current winter downturn could spread.
“Contagion risk within the crypto-asset sector resulting from interconnections among certain crypto-asset participants, including through opaque lending, investing, funding, service, and operational arrangements. These interconnections may also present concentration risks for banking organizations with exposures to the crypto-asset sector,” according to the warning.
“Banking organizations should ensure that crypto-asset-related activities can be performed in a safe and sound manner, are legally permissible, and comply with applicable laws and regulations,” according to the statement.
Ultimately, banking organizations will need “appropriate risk management, including board oversight, policies, procedures, risk assessments, controls, gates and guardrails, and monitoring, to effectively identify and manage risks,” according to the statement.
The joint statement in full can be found here: https://bit.ly/3WUwj4G
Glue42 & Broadridge Forge Integrated Trading Desktop
Broadridge Financial Solutions and software provider Glue42 are collaborating to offer global securities firms an integrated desktop experience for trading that promises to link user interfaces across financial products, officials say.
The combined effort offers clients of Broadridge and Glue42 “a single workspace for banks and broker-dealers,” officials add.
With Glue42’s technology, Broadridge can create “one interface for traders to access unique functionality from multiple Broadridge solutions,” says Ray Tierney, president of Broadridge Trading and Connectivity Solutions, in a prepared statement. “This new single login provides interoperability, access to the best components from multiple solutions making the trading workflow more efficient, allowing traders to focus on execution,” Tierney says.
The Glue42 desktop integration platform helps users “configure multi-app workflows, orchestrate UI [user interfaces], and incorporate data. Broadridge will use Glue42’s underlying technology to link applications together, providing clients with a framework for linking interfaces from multiple Broadridge products, including the Ullink OMS [order management system] and Tbricks. Through the partnership with Broadridge, Glue42 will broaden the number of applications working within its framework,” officials say. “The integration is available now in the United Kingdom and launching soon in the European Union and the United States.”
BNP Paribas Targets Shorter Settlement Tools
BNP Paribas is investing in AccessFintech, a vendor focused on capital markets data and workflows, in an effort to help clients of the French banking giant use the “latest technology, data and workflow tools” to shorten settlement cycles, officials say.
“The Series C funding round was led by WestCap. In addition to its Series B fundraising led by Dawn Capital, AccessFintech has now secured investment from … JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Bank of America, and BNY Mellon,” officials add. “Alongside these investors, BNP Paribas’s participation will be used to accelerate AccessFintech’s growth as it expands its collaborative data management network to additional markets.”
The investment will come via “BNP Paribas’s Securities Services unit, the bank’s post-trade arm. It will enable BNP Paribas to provide its Corporate and Institutional Banking clients with the latest technology, data, and workflow tools in a context of shortening settlement cycles,” according to the official statement. “Clients will also be able to enhance operational efficiency thanks to the use of AccessFintech’s Synergy data collaboration network.”
The Synergy offering “helps market participants reduce collateral needs and compress transaction costs through data collaboration, accelerated workflows, and AccessFintech’s cloud-based approach to data governance and normalization,” officials say.
“This investment is part of our strategy to partner with innovative technology companies to expand and digitalize our offering and give our clients access to the latest technologies,” says Bruno Campenon, global head of banks, brokers and corporates, securities services, at BNP Paribas, in a prepared statement.
BidX Markets Names APAC Head
BidX Markets has hired Harry Fry to grow the trading technology vendor’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) operations, another sign that the company is expanding its international team, officials say.
“Fry will be based out of Australia to help grow BidX Markets institutional trading business in the APAC region. He will be responsible for leading the brokerage’s efforts to develop and strengthen relationships with institutional clients and for implementing strategies to increase the company’s trading activity across East Asia, South Asia, and Oceania,” according to BidX Markets. “He will also be overseeing a growing team of client relationship managers, and ensuring that the brokerage is in compliance with local regulations.”
Fry’s background includes retail and institutional positions, including director of prime services, trading solutions analyst, oversights analyst, and U.K. funds consultant, officials say.
“I’m excited to be heading up BidX Markets Asia-Pacific operations. I’ll be in charge of working with the institutional sales and tech teams to help support our existing client base as well as grow the business in the region,” Fry says in a statement.
BidX Markets adds that it recently hired Shaun French to be its multi-asset research analyst providing institutional and professional clients with market news, research, and analysis. BidX Markets works with brokers, asset managers, and funds.
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