As expected, the European Commission has approved a one-year extension for compliance with the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), and while some firms are relieved others are frustrated by the “hurry up and wait” dynamic. The delay is intended to give more time to industry participants grappling with “the exceptional technical implementation… Read More >>
CFTC Designates NFA as SDR Data Recipient
CFTC Designates NFA as SDR Data Recipient The CFTC issued an order authorizing the National Futures Association (NFA) as “a designee to receive access to data maintained by swap data repositories (SDR),” officials say. The NFA is touted by the CFTC as the “only registered futures association (RFA)” actually registered with the commodities regulator. “As… Read More >>
Digital Asset Lands A-List Backers and $50M in Funding
Digital Asset Holdings, LLC, a New York City-based developer of distributed-ledger technology for the financial services industry, reports that it has “raised more than $50 million in funding” from several prominent financial industry players. The company’s new investors are: ABN AMRO, Accenture, ASX Ltd., BNP Paribas, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., Citi, CME Ventures, Deutsche Börse… Read More >>
T+2 Systems Will Get Built in 2016: DTCC
(Editor’s note: The push for a shortened settlement cycle got major boosts last year when SEC Chair Mary Jo White gave a provisional nod to the two-day settlement cycle (T+2), and when the U.S. T+2 Industry Steering Committee (T+2 ISC) submitted its Implementation Playbook to the SEC and released it publicly. The T+2 ISC is… Read More >>
Ops Gets on the Blockchain Revolution Bus
Bitcoin, a so-called crypto-currency, may fade before anyone really understands what it was or how it could actually have prevailed in financial services. However, out of Bitcoin’s ashes has risen the humbly named Blockchain technology. The distributed ledger technology that has been propping up Bitcoin has come to the attention of major industry players. This… Read More >>
Why Nasdaq and Symbiont Vie for Blockchain Firsts
The rush to the first-mover status via Blockchain technology is heating up between Nasdaq and Symbiont, the maker of the Smart Securities platform for trading, clearing, settling and transferring financial instruments. These early adopters are vying for key milestones in securities operations that can be transformed by the Blockchain distributed ledger technology that underpins the… Read More >>
EBS Direct Uses FIX 4.4 for Application Links
EBS Direct to Use FIX 4.4 API EBS BrokerTec, the electronic foreign exchange (FX) and fixed income business group of interdealer broker ICAP, reports that end-users can connect to its FX platform — EBS Direct via a FIX version 4.4 application programming interface (API). The Financial Information eXchange (FIX) protocol for electronic trading is overseen… Read More >>
Swaps Clearing in Europe Catching Up to U.S. Rules
The European Union has set the date for its clearing obligation, bringing European financial reform more into line with current U.S. obligations. The publication of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) regulatory technical standards (RTS) in the Official Journal of the European Union on December 1, 2015 will kick over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives clearing into… Read More >>
DTCC Debuts ‘Data as a Service’ Offering
DTCC Debuts ‘Data as a Service’ Offering Post-trade services utility, the DTCC is launching its data as a service (DaaS) offering that is intended to change the way data is accessed and presented from DTCC’s clearing, settlement, asset servicing and derivatives trade reporting solutions, DTCC officials say. “The DaaS offering provides subscribers access to their… Read More >>
SwapClear to Use Markit’s New Netting Service
The SwapClear clearinghouse is using a netting synchronization service for cleared, over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives just launched by financial information services vendor Markit. Markit is introducing the service in a bid to help banks “automatically update their risk systems after netting and compression activity at their clearing houses,” say vendor officials. “Netting exposures within a clearing… Read More >>
