Regulator CFTC has issued an order extending the designation of a utility operated by the DTCC and SWIFT as the provider of legal entity identifiers (LEIs) for the commission’s swap data recordkeeping and reporting rules, officials say. The DTCC-SWIFT utility — which had initially been referred to via the utility’s website and in educational and… Read More >>
Avox Receives ISO 27001 Certification
Avox, the DTCC’s wholly owned subsidiary specializing in legal entity reference data, reports that it has received International Standard Organization (ISO) 27001 certification from the British Standards Institution. The ISO 27001information security standard “certifies that Avox has the requisite information security controls in place to protect client data,” Avox says. “The certification is awarded only… Read More >>
Thomson Reuters Bolsters CDS Risk Service
Thomson Reuters has bolstered its credit risk offerings by adding StarMine Credit Default models to its DataScope suite, bringing together “on one platform reference data, core ratings agency data, pricing and analytics,” according to a company statement. The new StarMine Credit Default models are exclusive to Thomson Reuters and will provide data services that enable… Read More >>
RJO Takes a Hosted Leap into Recs Automation
Chicago-based futures brokerage and clearing firm, R. J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO) has gone from manual reconciliation to a hosted system that has allowed staff members to leapfrog into automation, even shrinking one process from a tedious 48-hour effort to minutes, says Jamal Oulhadj, senior managing director and chief risk officer of RJO. Since last… Read More >>
Firms Ready but Wary as Volcker Rule Becomes Reality
When the Volcker Rule provision of Dodd Frank finally goes into effect on Tuesday, July 21, the banks affected will have already done most of the heavy lifting, industry observers say. But banks will still face an arduous few months as they struggle to pin down the practice of a law they’ve spent so long… Read More >>
ISDA Endorses Semiannual Single-Name Credit Default Swaps
Derivatives industry group the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is officially urging that the single-name (single company) credit default swap (CDS) roll protocol frequency be changed from a quarterly to a semiannual basis, officials say. In a prepared statement, ISDA officials say the change is in response to market feedback and is aimed at… Read More >>
Fenergo Lands $75 Million in Private Equity Funding
After showing consecutive, year-over-year growth of 100% for the past three years, know your customer (KYC) management software vendor Fenergo has secured a $75 million investment from Insight Venture Partners, a New York-based private equity and venture capital firm. The transaction is expected to close within the next few weeks, Fenergo officials say. Insight Venture… Read More >>
Advisors, Institutional Investors Diverge on Alternatives
A new survey by Barron’s and market research firm Morningstar has revealed some slippage between how financial advisors and large institutions view alternative investments, officials say. “Financial advisors are increasingly enthusiastic about alternatives just as institutions are becoming more cautious,” says Josh Charlson, chartered financial analyst (CFA), director of manager research for alternative strategies at… Read More >>
ISDA Seeks Bidders for Crowdsourcing SIMM Utility
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) reports that it has launched a tender process to select a third-party to build and operate a crowdsourcing utility for the ISDA standard initial margin model (SIMM). The utility is meant to “aggregate and compile risk data,” so that market participants can implement the ISDA SIMM “consistently,” ISDA… Read More >>
Goldman Sachs Hit with $7M Penalty for Software Glitch
U.S. regulator, the SEC has hit investment banking giant Goldman Sachs with a $7 million penalty for allegedly violating the market access rule, “in connection with a trading incident that resulted in erroneous executions of options contracts,” officials say. An SEC investigation found that Goldman sent out roughly 16,000 mispriced options to various exchanges in… Read More >>
