FNZ officials report that they have found a complicated, partial exit from their complicated acquisition of GBST, which was ultimately vetoed by a U.K. regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Known as a wealth management platform provider, FNZ has just announced that it has sold GBST to Anchorage Capital Partners, a global private equity… Read More >>
FinTech Still Drives Ops: Q&A with Confluence
(Confluence Technologies, a solutions provider for investment management firms, is no stranger the strong currents of change that ripple through the financial technology industry. Just last month, Confluence, backed by Clearlake Capital and TA Associates, acquired Compliance Solutions Strategies (CSS), a cloud-based regtech solutions vendor, and Investment Metrics, a provider of investment data, performance, analytics,… Read More >>
Senate Makes Behnam the New CFTC Chairman
Lost in the tsunami of federal government budget battle news is the welcome development that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has a new, official chairman — Rostin “Russ” Behnam, and that the stage has been set for a full roster of commissioners. On Dec. 16, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to approve Rostin Behnam… Read More >>
Hearsay’s A.I. Tools Help Firms Cleanse Social Content
Hearsay Systems, a digital communications compliance vendor, has launched two new capabilities that use artificial intelligence (A.I.) — one to sift out inappropriate images in videos and direct messages, and another to detect offensive text— all to help financial advisors make certain their posts are compliant with regulatory and industry standards. The new features are… Read More >>
Cloud-Native Apps Are Better: Q&A with CompatibL
(Over the past two years, securities firms have begun to embrace the next chapter of cloud computing — cloud-native systems that exploit services and pipelines. This is essential for firms that want to reap the full benefits of the cloud, says Olga Orekhvo, chief operating officer (COO) at CompatibL Technologies. FTF News recently got time… Read More >>
NatWest Bank Fined $352M via Money Laundering Case
U.K. financial institution National Westminster Bank has been fined £264.8 million ($352.7 million) after being convicted for breaches of money laundering regulation in a criminal case led by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a key financial services regulator. The fine follows a guilty plea filed by NatWest officials in early October via Westminster Magistrates Court… Read More >>
ICE & RIMES Weave ETF Data Into Key Products
Integration Opens Access to Equity & Fixed Income Data Exchanges and technology company Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), owner of NYSE, reports that it has integrated exchange-traded funds (ETF) data managed by RIMES into key offerings such as ICE ETF Hub, ICE Portfolio Analytics, and ICE FI Select offerings, officials say. The enhancement will enable clients to… Read More >>
Wells Fargo Fined $2.25M for Document Storage Woes
Ironic, isn’t it, that just when cryptography enthusiasts are touting the capability of the blockchain to memorialize complex sequences of transactions, major units of a big bank find themselves in trouble over their own record-keeping? FINRA, the broker-dealer industry’s self-regulatory authority, charges Wells Fargo Clearing Services and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network — two units… Read More >>
House Passes Bill to Fix ‘Tough’ LIBOR Contracts
Bill Would Ease the Way to SOFR In a rare act of bipartisanship, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation intended to ease the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) transition for “markets, investors, and consumers” with what’s known as “tough legacy contracts” — incumbent agreements that will end without a designated reference rate. The… Read More >>
Remote Staffing Boosts Cloud’s Appeal: Q&A
(Cloud computing got a major boost during the pandemic when most staff members at financial services firms were compelled to work remotely, says Olga Orekhvo, chief operating officer (COO) at CompatibL Technologies. In fact, many financial services firms have embraced more than one cloud provider, which presents a new set of challenges. Orekhvo joined CompatibL… Read More >>
