Many industry observers are expecting the blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) movement to yield real-world results (and tests) this year, which is making some entrenched concerns nervous and some rebels very happy. In fact, we reported on how HSBC has been using a DLT implementation internally to settle more than three million foreign exchange (FX) transactions… Read More >>
Get Ready for the FTF Awards 2019
Never mind the Golden Globes, the Oscars or any of the other awards events, the FTF News Technology Innovation Awards for 2019 are about to get underway. We will kick off the first step via the nominations process, which begins Monday, January 7. The nomination categories can be found here. You will have until January… Read More >>
E.U. Authorities Brace for a Hard Brexit
Lost amid all the hot air about Brexit are the many global securities operations that will be disrupted when the U.K. leaves the E.U. One of the more contentious issues for global firms will be how to sort out their interactions with central counterparty clearinghouses (CCPs) based in the U.K. and Europe especially if there… Read More >>
CFTC Explains Smart Contracts
Through its LabCFTC extension for FinTech innovation, the CFTC has issued a primer “intended to be an educational tool” to explain what a “smart contract” actually is (in case you’re not certain), and to point out some of its shortcomings. “Fundamentally, a ‘smart contract’ is a set of coded computer functions,” according to the primer…. Read More >>
A Recap of the Deutsche Bank Raids
Last week’s raids on Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt and key bank branches by approximately 170 German law enforcement officials have sent shock waves throughout the financial services world. This must have been especially nerve-wracking news for those firms working so hard to stay within the difficult lines of compliance. Essentially, the German authorities say… Read More >>
CFTC Tightens Uncleared Swap Margin Requirements
Just in time for the winter holidays, the CFTC approved a final rule to tighten its uncleared swap margin requirements, known as the CFTC Margin Rule, and the changes made an appearance in the Federal Register, Vol. 83, no. 227, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018. Essentially, the changes will take effect by the end of this… Read More >>
A Few Reasons to Be Thankful in 2018
For this blog, I usually focus on the rarely seen, between-the-lines aspects of the major securities operations issues and trends that we cover via FTF News. I have tackled many subjects over the years and I hope I have brought more light than heat to many matters essential to helping firms optimize their operations. But,… Read More >>
E.U. Derivatives Reporting Will Get Funky After Brexit
The U.K. and E.U. negotiations over Brexit appear to be at a critical moment as the negotiators for both sides have just presented a preliminary agreement. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will unveil the deal to her cabinet and England this week. However, the initial pushback to the agreement has ranged from negative to skeptical,… Read More >>
Bakkt to the Future?
Much has been happening in the crypto-asset space and it is difficult to sort out how much of it will become reality for financial services firms especially for operations staffs. Given this uncertainty, an emerging platform dubbed Bakkt promises to be “an open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets.” It has been getting attention… Read More >>
DLT Passes Canadian Tests for Ops Usage
A little over a week ago, news broke that Payments Canada, the Bank of Canada, TMX Group, Accenture and R3 have been able to show that distributed ledger technology (DLT), the ballyhooed blockchain framework at the core of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies, has passed an initial test of its ability to facilitate equity clearing and… Read More >>
