The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants to hear from the securities industry about ways the regulator can improve its rules governing residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and aspects of asset-backed securities (ABS). To gather those opinions, the SEC published a concept release inviting public comment. “The concept release notes there have been no public RMBS… Read More >>
TS Imagine Launches Securities Lending Platform
TS Imagine, a trading, portfolio, and risk management solutions provider, is launching LoanSmart, a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering that’s a “front-to-back, multi-asset solution for stock loan, repo, and collateral management for the buy- and sell-side,” officials say. “LoanSmart allows users to operate securities-backed lending and repo businesses while automating key securities lending processes… Read More >>
FTF Reveals Winners of the 14th Annual Awards Program
Financial Technologies Forum (FTF) has revealed the winners of the 2025 FTF News Technology Innovation Awards program, and cutting-edge and mainstream achievements are the common themes among the winners. The FTF Awards program — now in its 14th year — honors providers, organizations, and individuals who made significant contributions to the profession of securities operations… Read More >>
Tariff Turmoil Creates Big Clearing & Settlement Spikes
(Global financial markets entered into new levels of volatility over the past month as a result of the Trump administration’s tariff agenda. The impacts stretch from the front office to the middle- and back-office teams and enterprise-wide IT infrastructures. While firms grapple with shifting investor demands and significant market churn, their systems, infrastructures, and strategies… Read More >>
UST ETFs Can Be Collateral for Uncleared Swaps
A division of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission staff has issued a clarification that will allow shares of certain U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be treated as redeemable securities in a pooled investment fund and thus eligible as margin collateral for certain uncleared swap transactions. The clarification allows these instruments to qualify as eligible… Read More >>
Providers Try New Ways to Ease Collateral Management
The new tariff wars are spurring new operational challenges across global markets, a situation made more difficult by less-than-optimal collateral management operations at many firms. As firms navigate fluctuating markets and regulations, post-trade infrastructure provider the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC), and established providers SmartStream and Finastra are exploring new ways to optimize collateral… Read More >>
Trump Team & Senate Bill End Hopes for a U.S. CBDC
A central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the U.S. will not be developed and issued by the Federal Reserve any time soon, and it may be a long time before the U.S. federal government seriously considers the viability of a CBDC. The halt is the result of an executive order about digital assets, issued by… Read More >>
CME & DTCC Advance Margin Cuts for Treasury Traders
CME Group and the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. (DTCC) have been working behind the scenes to expand their cross-margining agreement to increase margin savings and capital efficiencies for traders by December 2025, officials say. The update, which is still pending the nod from regulators, aims to improve the long-standing CME-DTCC cross-margining arrangement by allowing… Read More >>
TS Imagine Launches a CCP Margin Calculator
TS Imagine, a global, cross-asset provider of trading, portfolio, and risk management solutions, has released a margin calculator offering intended to improve the way securities firms meet the minimum requirements of central counterparty clearinghouses (CCPs). The RiskSmart X’s CCP Margin Calculator is an extension of the RiskSmart X offering that launched last year, which helps… Read More >>
Tokenized Securities Offer Many Ops Benefits
(The digital overhaul for securities trading and operations is moving quickly to the next chapter facilitated by blockchains, cryptocurrencies, tokenization, and more. To help those working in traditional securities operations, FTF News reached out to Thomas Sullivan, managing director-head of business development for digital assets at Societe Generale. Sullivan agreed to provide explanations on the… Read More >>
