For the past week, it certainly has been a roller coaster ride for the British pound. The U.K.’s currency plummeted to new depths last Friday, Oct. 7, only to rally on Wednesday, Oct. 12, as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May promised there would be a “full and transparent” parliamentary debate before the government triggers Article… Read More >>
U.K. Prime Minister Sets Hard Deadline for Brexit
After much speculation, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May finally drew a line in the sand announcing that Article 50 would be invoked before the end of March 2017. While Brexiteers cheered that a deadline was set, moderates and remain voters were dismayed as the British pound hit a new three-month low on Monday, Oct. 3,… Read More >>
SIFMA, Others Push Treasury to Ease the Brexit Burden
Key U.S. financial services trade groups recently sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew asking him and his department to work with their counterparts in the U.K. and the E.U. toward “a smooth and transparent Brexit transition process that minimizes the impact on global markets,” according to the letter. The Securities… Read More >>
Pending LSE-Deutsche Börse Union Faces Antitrust Pushback
Shareholders may have given their seal of approval but the fate of the Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange Group’s £21 billion ($27.7 billion) merger is now in the hands of roughly 40 regulatory bodies around the world. While a handful including the U.S. and Russian authorities have given the union the green light, getting… Read More >>
U.K. May Delay Brexit Until 2019
It may only be two months since the U.K. invoked the historic vote to leave the European Union but now it seems like an eternity. At this rate, it could literally be years before U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May triggers Article 50 and gets the ball rolling. However, this will only infuriate the Brexiteers and… Read More >>
Ops Issues Lost in the Horrible Hoopla
The U.S. race for president is becoming an odd mix of entertainment and a train wreck that you can’t stop watching. Yet, while everyone’s emotions are being run ragged, there are some issues related to securities operations that quickly got lost in the horrible hoopla. The first securities Ops issue that I thought would be… Read More >>
Brexit Threatens London’s Role as Financial Hub
One of the big unknowns in the post-Brexit world is the fate of London as a global financial hub. While some market participants will put on a brave face, arguing that the City’s infrastructure and skill sets are hard to replicate, recent studies argue that the dreaded exodus could happen if negotiations do not go… Read More >>
U.K. Firms Told to Keep to MiFID II Timetable
In the current period of post-Brexit limbo, questions are being asked over the fate of impending European regulations such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) which is due to come into force in 2018. While tempting to push it down the agenda — it has been continually delayed — financial institutions… Read More >>
Brexit Storm Rains On LSE, Deutsche Börse Merger
London Stock Exchange (LSE) shareholders may have given their approval to the planned £20 billion ($30 billion) merger with Germany’s Deutsche Börse but there is no guarantee that their relationship will weather the post-Brexit storm and this could pave the way for another suitor. In a joint statement after the Brexit vote, LSE and Deutsche… Read More >>
Brexit Political Turmoil Puts Markets in Limbo
Former U.K. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan once famously said that a “week is a long time in politics,” but if recent events are anything to go by perhaps the statement should apply to 24 hours. Within a day last week, U.K. politics was turned on its head in a series of events that would be… Read More >>
