Custodian and service provider Northern Trust confirms that it will be shrinking its global workforce by approximately 500 positions, which is less than 2.5 percent of its total staff, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing low interest rates. The staff cuts follow Northern Trust Corp.’s report of a third-quarter net income… Read More >>
Key Regulators Issue USD LIBOR Warning
Authorities: Steer Clear of USD LIBOR Key industry regulators are warning financial services firms not to use U.S. dollar (USD) LIBOR as a reference rate after Dec. 31, 2021 to avoid “consumer protection, litigation, and reputation risks.” The Nov. 30 statement, which underscores the need for firms to move away from the London Inter-bank Offered… Read More >>
Start-Up MEMX Launches Live Equities Trading
Members Exchange Trades in Seven Symbols A securities exchange start-up, the Members Exchange (MEMX) launched live trading via the U.S. equity market on Sept. 21, the first phase of MEMX’s rollout schedule. “A quick update on our first day of trading,” wrote Jonathan Kellner, CEO of MEMX, in a blog posting. “We executed our first… Read More >>
Gresham Taps Duco for Top European Sales Post
Vincent Him Joins Gresham London-based reconciliation vendor Gresham Technologies has tapped competitor SmartStream Technologies to fill a senior European sales position, underscoring its international growth efforts, officials say. Gresham has hired Vincent Him to be sales director for Europe, and he has nearly 25 years of experience across the post-trade reconciliations industry. In addition to… Read More >>
Fifty Firms Sign Up for DTCC’s MTU
Firms Automate Margining Tasks The DTCC’s Margin Transit Utility (MTU), an automated margin call service, now has the support of 50 financial services firms that are striving to automate manual systems amid volatile markets, officials say. The MTU service includes connectivity from AcadiaSoft’s Margin Manager and DTCC’s Alert for standing settlement instructions (SSIs), links to… Read More >>
State Street’s Alpha Hits Its Stride: Q&A
(State Street Alpha is a front-to-back office asset servicing platform that the global custodian bank is offering to investment managers, hedge funds, asset owners, and insurers. The front- and middle-office components of Alpha are from the Charles River Investment Management Solution (IMS) platform, a result of State Street Corp.’s $2.6 billion acquisition of Charles River… Read More >>
Sell-Side Firms Are Reviving Key Projects: SmartStream
(Sell-side firms are reviewing and reengaging strategic projects in the wake of a pandemic that caused staff to work remotely, says Jason Ang, program manager, TLM Collateral Management, at SmartStream Technologies. This return to strategic projects amid lockdowns and re-openings means the sell side is re focusing on collateral and its importance for credit risk… Read More >>
Ready for a LIBOR Transition Exam?
To make sure that things are moving along as they should, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) quietly released a Risk Alert, “Examination Initiative: LIBOR Transition Preparedness,” on June 18 that reminds people that the OCIE is happy to inspect your firm’s progress. The global push to move away from the London… Read More >>
Apifiny Launches Blockchain-based Settlement Network
‘Roxe’ Pitched as a New Way to Clear & Settle Apifiny, a San Francisco-based global transfer network services provider, has officially debuted a settlement network based on blockchain technology, dubbed Roxe, that has been designed for “instant global clearing and settlement of payments and remittances, traditional assets, and digital assets,” according to the vendor…. Read More >>
ISITC’s Workaround for SWIFT & Negative Trading Prices
The Derivatives Working Group of ISITC, a securities industry standards group, is helping to spotlight a problem that has gotten lost in the shuffle of a pandemic and sudden recession. Essentially, how do users of the SWIFT financial messaging network process negative trading prices on commodity futures? “The effort was spurred by recent market event… Read More >>
