Financial cloud solutions provider Beeks Financial Cloud Group is partnering with trading and clearing provider Securities & Trading Technology (STT) to offer a managed service that incorporates clearing, settlement, trade execution, risk management, and surveillance, officials say. The timing was the driving factor for the collaboration between STT and Berks Group as they want to… 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 >>
SEC Pushes New ‘Living Wills’ for Clearing Agencies
Late last week, the SEC announced that it is proposing big changes for covered clearing agencies (CCAs) that “would augment and strengthen the requirements of the rules that govern CCAs.” When translated from the legal gobbledygook, the SEC really wants better “living wills” a.k.a. “recovery and orderly wind-down plans (RWP)” for clearing agencies that may… Read More >>
‘Like Upgrading an Aircraft Midflight’: Q&A
(Correspondent clearing provider RQD* Clearing (RQD) recently announced that it is broadening its partnership with broker-dealer TradingBlock to cover clearing and execution for the firm’s active and retail trading lines. In addition, RQD and TradingBlock are collaborating on TradingBlock’s forthcoming retail trading platform. TradingBlock, whose clients include proprietary traders and small hedge funds, was among… Read More >>
Clearing Is Broken: Q&A with RQD*’s CEO
(Consolidation across the clearing sector has resulted in less competition, fewer options for securities firms, and a broken system, says Michael Sanocki, CEO of RQD* Clearing, a new correspondent clearing provider. Thus RQD’s mission is to reach out to firms that are “sorely underserved” and “ripe for disruption.” RQD, which officially launched last month, offers… Read More >>
Cowen to Use RBC C&C for Correspondent Clearing
RBC Clearing and Custody (RBC C&C) and Cowen’s Correspondent Clearing group have signed an agreement to move a subset of Cowen’s clients to the RBC clearing platform, officials say. The Cowen agreement fits in with RBC C&C’s strategy to expand the reach of its clearing platform to broker-dealers with institutional clients, and registered investment advisors… Read More >>
Goldman Sachs Joins Swaps Settlement Service
Settlement Service Run by CLS & IHS Markit Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has joined a cross-currency swaps settlement service developed by financial data and systems vendor IHS Markit and a firm specializing in settlement CLS, officials report. With its latest member, the payment-versus-payment (PvP) settlement service has eight settlement members “live on the service,… Read More >>
Industry Braces for the T+2 Big Bang Conversion
After years of preparation, the U.S. securities industry is taking its first steps toward shorter settlement, which for many banks and other financial services firms has meant an end-to-end overhaul for key operations. Over the Labor Day weekend, major industry associations and industry participants will be skipping their last summer holiday to oversee the shortening… Read More >>
FINRA to Conduct T+2 Tests on August 19
Tests to facilitate the move by U.S. financial markets to a shorter settlement cycle will be sponsored by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on Saturday, August 19, 2017, according to the self-regulatory organization. Underway for several years, the U.S. push for a shorter settlement cycle crossed a major milestone this past March when the… Read More >>
Blockchain’s Great Promise Faces Great Hurdles
The distributed ledger, or blockchain, as today’s hot financial services technology is also known, may lead to an Internet of Value. But first, important issues have to be resolved. So says Lael Brainard, one of the Federal Reserve’s seven governors. In a recent speech entitled “The Use of Distributed Ledger Technologies in Payment, Clearing, and… Read More >>
